1 


Jalifornia 

gional 

cility 


THE 

GENIUS  OF  MASONRY, 

OR 

A  DEFENCE  OF  THE  ORDER, 


ttONTAINTNO  SOME  RXMABK8  OK  TH1!  ORTOIT  AK7)  HISTOBT  ;  THE 

USES  AND  ABUSES  OF    THE  SCIENCE,  WITH    SOME  SOT1CKS  OF 

OTHER  SECHET    SOCIETIES  IK    TH«    UNITED    STATES,  IIT 

THREE  LECTURES. 


B7  SA3VSU32L  I..  KlfAFP. 


Lo  this,  we  have  searched  it,  so  it  is,  hear  it, 
And  know  thou  it  for  thy  good.— Job  v.  27. 


PROVIDENCE.- 
CRANSTON  &.  MAI  Si; ALL,  PRINTERS. 


RHODE-ISLAND  DISTRICT,  SO. 
Be  it  remembered,  That  on  the  23d  day  of 
October,  1828,  and  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  the 
Independence  of  the  United  S'ates  of  America, 
Samuel  L.  Knapp,   of  said  District,  deposited  in 
this  Office,  the  title  of  a  book,  the  right  whereof 
lie  claims  as  proprietor,  in   the  following-  words,  viz  :  "  The 
Genius  of  Masonry,  or  a  Defence  of  the  Order,   containing1 
some  remarks  on  the  origin  and  history ;  the  Uses  and  Abuses 
of  the  Science,  with  some  notices  of  other  Secret  Societies  in 
the  United  States,  in  three  Lectures,  by  Samuel  L.  K;iapp." 
Lo  this,  we  have  searched  it,  so  it  is,  hear  ic, 
And  know  thou  it,  for  thy  good  — Job  v.  "7." 
In  conformity  to  an  act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
entitled  "An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing 
the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Books  to  the  authors  and  pro- 
prietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  time  therein  mentioned,  and 
also  to  an  Act  entitled  "  An  Act  for  the  encouragement  of 
learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Boc  ks  to  the 
authors  and  proprietors  of  such  copies, during  the  times  therein 
mentioned,  and  extending  the  benefit  thereof  to  the  art  of  de- 
signing1, engraving  and  etching  historical  or  other  prints." 
Witness, 

BENJAMIN  CO  WELL, 
Clerk  ot  the  Rhode-Island  District. 


INTRODUCTION. 

At  the  threshold,  I  make  this  distinct  declarctioa, 
that  no  political,  party,  or  sectarian  views  ;  no  ma- 
sonic excitement,  or  momentary  resentments  have 
entered  into  the  work  I  propose  to  publish.  This 
is  the  simple  history  of  my  labours. 

About  two  years  since  a  distinguished  brother, 
high  in  office,  requested  me  to  write  a  succinct  de- 
fence of  masonry  in  answer  to  some  objections  which 
had  from  time  to  time  been  made  by  some  enlighten- 
ed men  out  of  our  pale.  The  excitement  in  the 
western  parts  of  the  state  of  New  York  had  not  then 
commenced.  To  his  request  other  inducements 
were  added,  and  at  my  leisure,  some  materials  were 
collected  for  the  discourses  found  in  this  work.  My 
object  was  to  show  the  origin,  history,  uses,  abuses 
and  general  effccls  of  Masonry.  Before  I  had  found 
an  opportunity  of  presenting  my  labours  to  the  crit- 
ical inspection  of  this  friend  of  masonry  and  of  man, 
to  whom  I  have  alluded,  he  had  passed  the  confines 
of  time  for  eternity,  and  had  left  me  to  mourn  the 
loss  of  his  learning  and  advice.  The  form  in  which 
I  had  prepared  my  defence  was  that  of  lectures  to  be. 
addressed  to  a  mixed  audience,  and  of  course  it  was 


20371 


jy. 

my  aim  to  avoid  all  technicalities,  and  such  word- 
and  phrases  as  have  a  masonic  meaning,  in  addition 
to  their  common  definition.  I  have  never  found 
time  to  deliver  them.  I  now  offer  these  humble  la^ 
bours  to  the  public  on  my  own  responsibility,  not 
wishing  to  involve  any  body  of  men  in  them,  be  they 
for  good,  or  be  they  for  evil.  I  am  well  aware  of  the 
critical  moment  in  which  I  offer  myself  as  a  defender 
of  our  faith,  perhaps  a  martyr  lo  it  ;  but  I  have 
weighed  well  the  possible  consequences,  and  poising 
myself  on  the  rectitude  of  my  motives  in  which  there 
lurks  no  party  purpose,  no  political  intrigue,  noth- 
ing against  a  single  article  of  religious  belief,  I  shall 
fearlessly  proceed. 

In  this  excitement  about  masonry,  many  of  my 
brethren  are  disposed  to  recommend  a  profound  si- 
lence and  a  perfect  quietude,  while  the  waves  dash 
over  us,  in  hopes  that  a  calm  will  soon  succeed.  Thia 
would  be  well,  if  only  the  fanatical  were  excited  ; 
but  the  enlightened  who  are  not  masons,  are  awake  to 
enquiry,  and  they  ought  to  be  answered.  The  luke- 
warm say,  be  still,  from  an  indifference  to  the  sub- 
ject ;  but  from  those,  who  would  take  advice  ?  The 
timid  cry  beware,  for  they  fear  that  too  much  of  ma- 
sonic secresy  may  be  discovered  to  the  eyes  and 
ears  of  the  uninitiated.  These  should  not  be  regar- 
ed  ;  but  to  ease  them  of  their  fears,  we  would  tell 
them  that  the  lawyers  of  a  former  age  were  in  dis- 


V, 

tress  at  the  appearance  of  Blackstone's  Commenta- 
ries, thinking  that  every  man  would  understand -the 
law,  and  their  business  would  be  at  an  end.  Has  it 
been  so  ?  The  independent,  in  absolute  fearlessnesn 
of  consequences  say,  let  the  enemies  of  masonry  go 
on,  they  can  do  us  no  lasting  injury  ;  and  perhaps 
some  of  the  very  judicious  may  think  the  anti-masonic? 
spirit  is  transitory  and  harmless  ;  in  this  they  are 
deceived.  The  enemies  of  masonry  are  rapidly 
gaining  ground,  from  the  listlessness  of  our  or- 
der ;  not  from  the  force  of  their  arguments  ;  but  from 
the  constant  repetitions  of  falsehoods,  which  if  doubt- 
ed at  first  are  afterwards  believed  beaause  they  are 
not  contradicted.  I  repeat  it,  that  if  we  had  only  to 
contend  with  frenzied  opponents,  silence  might  be 
wisdom  ;  but  the  coo/,  the  thinking,  the  intelligent  are 
seeking  to  be  instructed,  and  are  constantly  making 
these  enquires  of  us  ;  "  can  we  put  a  few  plain  ques- 
tions to  you  of  the  masonic  family,  without  being 
parried  olf  with  some  technical  or  mystical  answer  ? 
If  so,  then  are  the  principles  you  profess,  capable  of 
a  full  defence  ;  and  if  they  be,  why  do  you  not  make 
it  ?"  My  plain  answer  has  been,  now  is,  and  ever 
shall  be,  yes,  you  may  put  your  questions,  and  they 
shall  be  honestly  replied  to.  Masonry  is  suscepti- 
ble of  a  full  defence,  and  the  defence  should  be  made 
privately  and  publickly  for  the  double  purpose  of  sat- 
isfying you,  and  for  vindicating  ouridvea.  There  is 
A2 


VI.  4 

another  class  of  half-believing,  halt-doubting,  candid 
sortof folks,  who  think  that  black  is  not  so  very  black, 
nor  white  so  very  while,  who  say,  wont  you  stop  until 
this  or  that  matter  is  decided,  perhaps  it  may  be  bet- 
ter, all  things  considered.  This  is  the  constant  din 
about  the  ears  of  every  one  who  ventures  on  any  thing 
new  or  not  sustained  by  precedents.  They  add,  this 
is  an  evil  hour,  for  masonry  ;  many  wise  men,  they 
say,  ponder  upon  it.  Has  not  every  thing  valuable 
in  this  world  had  its  evil  hours  ?  Has  not  all  that  it 
great  and  good  been  proscribed  ?  Letters,  science^ 
religion,  liberty  have  had  their  days  of  proscription, 
and  their  lukewarm,  timid,  doubling  friendi.  The 
lamp  of  science,  instead  of  being  placed  on  the  altar 
of  a  country's  glory,  has  in  the  past,  gleamed  for 
ages  in  the  recesses  of  a  monastery  ;  and  our  holy 
religion,  when  it  was  professed  with  the  utmost  se- 
verity and  fanaticism,  was  almost  entirely  destitute 
of  morality  and  its  train  of  virtues  ;  and  this  was  at 
the  very  time  too,  when  crusades  were  undertaken 
against  the  heathen  to  rescue  the  holy  land  from  the 
profanation  of  the  Saracens,  and  infidels,  and  also, 
to  conquer  and  convert  these  benighted  wretches  ; 
by  whom,  in  the  end,  we  were  taught  the  high  and 
stern  virtues  of  morality,  as  well  as  the  sciences,  the 
arts,  and  letters,  known  to  them.  It  was  then  un- 
safe for  the  few  holy  men  to  preach  morality  :  lib- 
erty, too,  has  seen  many  evil  hours  and  had  her  aw- 


„  Vll. 

f'ul  struggles.  These  she  had  even  In  (he  land  of  her 
birth  and  of  her  adoption  ;  when  driven  from  Greece 
to  Italy  she  lingered  long  among  the  palaces  of  the 
mighty ;  but  taking  her  flight  from  hill  top  to  mountain, 
she  at  length  found  an  asylum  on  our  shores  ;  and 
even  here,  she  is  often  abused  and  trodden  down  by 
those  who  profess  to  be  her  friends,and  when  she  arises 
is  found  to  have  lost  something  of  her  purity  and 
beauty.  If  learning,  religion  and  liberty  have  been 
assailed,  can  masonry  expect  to  pass  on  without  her 
troubles  also  ?  Has  not  every  effort  been  made  to 
preserve  these  blessings  to  mankind,  and  in  the  best 
form. 

And  shall  masons  yield  all  they  love  without  a 
struggle  ?  Every  precedent  is  against  it  :  the  per- 
severing zeal  of  the  school  man,  the  suffering  of  th« 
saint  ; — the  deeds  of  the  patriarch,  bear  witness  that 
they  spared  no  pains  and  shrunk  from  no  danger 
in  support  of  their  cause,  and  shall  masons  be  the 
first  body  to  part  with  the  blessings  they  enjoy,  with- 
out offering  a  few  reasons,  against  the  injustice  of 
being  so  ill-treated,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  inva- 
sion made  on  Ihem  ?  Thank  heaven  there  are  good, 
sound,  authoritative  precedents  for  our  guides.  When 
the  old  and  new  testaments  were  attacked,  and  rev- 
elation derided  from  the  wayward  disposition  of  men, 
and  from  the  breaking  up  of  the  great  deeps  of  the 
moral  world,  Watson  came  out  with  his  "  Apology  for 


vm. 

the  Bible"  and  this  was  done  contrary  to  the  advice 
of  some  of  his  best  friends.  It  has  been  said  that  a 
majority  of  the  bench  of  Bishops  thought  it  was  haz- 
arding much  to  meet  sturdy  infidelity  on  the  ground 
of  reason  in  matters  of  faith. — This  was  however 
done,  and  successfully  too,  by  Watson  and  others. 
The  mists  of  infidelity  were  blown  away  and  all  was 
pure  and  serene  again.  If  the  chronicles  of  Israel, 
the  wisdom  of  Solomon  ;  the  psalms  of  David,  and 
the  inspirations  of  Isaiah,  with  the  new  and  glorious 
dispensation  of  the  gospel,  required  an  appeal  to  rea- 
aon  and  argument  for  a  defence,  surely  masonry 
need  not  be  backward  in  making  use  of  the  treas- 
ures ofhistory,  the  help  of  the  advocate,  and  the  de- 
cisions of  common  sense  to  place  the  question  of  her 
honesfy,  utility  and  importance  in  a  correct  light  be- 
fore a  candid  and  discriminating  public. 

I  hope  my  humble  labours  will  be  read  by  all  class- 
es in  the  community  and  fairly  commented  upon  and 
judged  by  them.  Of  this  however  I  have  no  fears. 
The  liberal  minded  clergyman  of  every  creed,  I 
would  invoke  to  ponder  well,  before  he  takes  up  a 
crusade  against  masonry.  Who  in  former  ages  built 
the  houses  of  God  and  defended  the  priests  at  the  al- 
tar ?  Masons.  The  Fair  too,  I  would  entreat  to 
read,  and  before  they  join  the  cry  of  overthrow  and 
extermination,  to  listen  to  me  for  a  moment,  and  judge 
for  themselves,  if  I  have  not  given  a  plausible  rea- 


rx. 

son,  at  least,  for  many  things  in  masonry  they  com- 
plain of.  Whether  I  have  succeeded  in  one  thing 
or  another,  the  public  will  judge,  and  for  their  calm 
decision  I  shall  wait  with  patience,  and  shall  claim 
no  appeal  from  such  a  tribunal.  To  thoge  already 
disposed  to  censure  every  thing  in  defence  of  ma- 
sonry, I  shall  apply  the  words  of  a  great  man  of  an- 
tiquity, against  whom  the  bludgeon  was  raised,  to 
awe  him  to  silence,  when  he  was  speaking  for  his 
country's  good — striLt  but  hear  ! 


IDEFEiTOS 

LECTURE  I. 

*'  Truth  beguiled  us  on, 

Through  many  a  maze  of  garden  and  of  porch, 

Through  many  a  system,  where  the  scatter'd  1  ght 

Of  hravfiily  truth  lay,  like  a  broken  beam 

From  ihc  pure  sun,  which  though  ret'i  acted  all 

Into  a  thousand  hues,  is  sunshine  still, 

And  bright  through  every  change. 

So  quiet  have  been  the  opposers  of  masonry  for 
many  years  past  in  this  country,  that  \ve  have  hardly 
thought  a  defence  of  it  would  ever  be  required  ;  but 
strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  time  has  arrived  when  it 
is  proper,  indeed,  almost  indispensable  to  defend  our- 
selves against  the  ravings  of  fanaticism,  and  the 
suggestions  of  suspicion.  The  great  doctrines  of 
toleration  are  infringed,  and  a  few  persons  have  ar- 
isen, as  they  often  did  in  former  ages,  to  alarm  the 
credulous,  and  to  cause  them  to  act  against  (hat 
which  they  do  not  understand.  At  this  moment, 
when  we  are  reviled  by  somo,  and  threatened  by 
others,  we  will  take  a  candid  review  of  masonry, 
equally  regardless  of  what  may  be  thought  of  it,  even 
by  those  who  are  within,  as  well  as  those  without 


12 

the  pale  of  the  order.  I  shall  not  make  orations  upon 
masonry  to  delight  you  with  a  picture  of  its  effects 
alone,  and  to  amuse  you  with  what  it  has  done  for 
society,  and  what  it  will  do  for  mankind,  if  suffered 
to  go  on  without  molestation.  No  :  I  shall  dwell 
upon  its  origin,  history,  and  tendency,  craving  no 
privileges,  asking  no  immunities  for  masonry,  and 
fearing  no  censures  on  the  craft  ;  hut  shall  go  on, 
plainly  stating  what  I  believe,  and  what  I  know. 

Masonry  has  been  well  defined  by  one  of  our 
brethren  "  to  be  a  compact  throughout  the  world,  to 
perform  towards  each  other,  and  to  each  other's  fam- 
ilies, the  offices  of  charity  and  friendship,  whenever 
the  vicissitudes  of  fortune  place  them  in  a  situation 
to  require  it."  To  this  definition  I  would  add,  that  it 
has  a  universal  language  to  convey  morals,  philan- 
thropy and  social  feelings  amongst  all  people  who 
have  learned  its  value  ;  that  it  contains  maxims  and 
principles  enforced  by  strong  pledges  and  obliga- 
tions which  goto  support  the  humble,  to  cherish  the 
desponding,  to  soften  the  niHe  ;  to  subdue  the  obsti- 
nate, and  to  rouse  the  sluggish  ;  and,  in  fine,  it  m:ike« 
a  common  chain  that  binds  men  together  that  cir- 
cumstance, gpas,  countries,  or  climates  have  other- 
wise made  strangers. 

The  origin  of  Masonry  has  caused  many  disputa- 
tions amongst  the  craft  themselves ;  some  bringing 
it  from  the  remotest  antiquity  ;  and  others  dating  its 


13 

origin  in  the  fifth,  or  sixth,  or  seventh  century.  I  have 
examined  with  great  care  both  of  these  opinions,  and 
the  researches  in  Asiatic  literature  which  have  been 
made  within  these  few  years  past,  and  the  stores  of 
antiquarian  knowledge  which  the  scholars  of  Europe 
have  lately  given  to  the  world,  have  enabled  me  to 
proceed  with  more  helps  than  any  one  could  have 
had  a  few  years  since.  In  truth,  every  day  some 
new  light  is  thrown  upon  the  origin  of  the  arts  and 
sciences,  and  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  revising 
the  opinions  we  have  received  from  the  common  sour- 
ces of  knowledge,  and  in  some  instances  obliged  to 
reverse  them,  if  we  wish  to  cherish  the  truth.  The 
solution  of  these  opposite  opinions  I  think  to  be  this, 
that  all  the  principles  of  Masonry,  many  of  its  rules 
and  regulations,  features  and  habits,  customs,  words, 
signs,  degrees,  &c.  &.c.  existed  long  before  the  Chris- 
tian era  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  and  probably 
had  as  much,  or  more  influence  on  the  conduct  of  men 
then  as  they  now  have  ;  but  that  Masonry  was  not 
known  by  that  name  until  after  the  Christian  era.  It  is 
agreed  by  all  the  antiquarian  writers,  Masons  or  not, 
that  the  order  was  brought  into  England  by  the  mis- 
sionaries from  Rome  who  came  to  convert  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Island  of  Great  Britain.  These  artists 
had  travelled  in  the  east  and  were  acquainted  with 
the  science  of  architecture  which  embraces  the  great 
principles  of  geometry  and  mathematics  to  a  consid- 
B 


14 

Arable  extent,  and  all  the  rules  of  taste,  and  the  prac- 
tice of  the  whole  circle   of  the  arts.     The  Grecian 
temples  erected  to  profane  Divinities  would  not   an- 
swer for  these  devotees,  nor  would  the  ponderous  and 
clumsy  architecture  of  the  Egyptians  suit  their  taste. 
In  this  moment  they  sat  down,  and  with  great  talents, 
which  they  certainly  possessed,  and  with  admirable 
success  invented  that  solemn  and  imposing  style  of 
building  that  has  since  been  callf-d  the  Gothic,  as  it 
sprang  up  after  the  Goths  had  conquered  Rome,  and 
mastered  their  learning  as  well  as  their  cities.     Still 
it  must  be   confessed  that  many  useful  hints  for  this 
style    were  found   in   the   castles  and   temples    of 
the  East.    With  the  knowledge  they  received  in  the 
East  was  incorporated  that  which  was  called  myste- 
ry, and  given  under  the   sanction  of  strong  pledg- 
es of  secresy.     In    the  East,   habits  and  customs 
change  but  little  in  the  lapse  of  many  centuries,  and 
nearly   the  same  forms  of  secret  societies  are  found 
at  this  day  which  existed  then.     In  taking  a  view  of 
the  early  ages  of  intelligence,  we  shall  be  under  the 
necessity  of  bringing  in  matters  and  things  that  may 
not  seem  at  first  to  have   a  bearing  on   the  subject, 
but  I  trust  I  shall  be  able  to  convince  you  in   the 
end   that  they   have.      It  requires  a   considerable 
knowledge  of  botany  to  judge   of  the  flowers  by  the 
roots  of  the  plant  ;  but  after  a  short  examination,  the 
connexion  and  peculiar  fitness  for  each  other  is  seen 


15 

and  makes  no  small  part  of  the  beauty  of  nature  and 
fitness  of  things,  which  is  every  where  observable  in 
the  works  of  that  Providence  that  suckles  each  herb, 
and  spread$  out  every  flower.  The  connexions  in 
the  moral  world  perhaps  are  as  intimate  if  not  so  dis- 
cernable. 

Ancient  learning  was  full  of  mysteries.(l)  Every 
scholar  meets  allusions  to  them  in  every  author  he 
examines  ;  and  in  general,  he  finds  that  they  were 
highly  respected  by  these  authors.  The  wisdom  of 
the  Egyptians  was  unquestionably  full  of  mysteries, 
as  their  temples  and  their  tombs  bear  witness,  a* 
well  as  the  pages  of  history  which  the  Greeks  hav» 
given  concerning  this  nation. (2)  The  Hebrews  who 
were  at  first  a  pastoral  people,  could  not  have  at- 
tended much  to  the  arts  or  sciences,  but  took  them 
from  the  Egyptians  with  most  of  their  ether  learning, 
and  in  truth,  their  term  of  bondage  was  well  spent 
in  treasuring  up  that  knowledge  they  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  acquire. 

The  Magi  of  Persia  were  also  the  repository  of 
the  learning  of  the  Empire,  and  from  knowing  many 
of  the  laws  of  nature  which  others  did  not  know,  they 
secured  to  themselves  distinction,  and  often  the  rev- 
erence due  to  superior  nature.  The  different  orders 
of  their  soothsayers,  and  astrologers,  and  wise  men, 
were  only  the  different  classes  of  their  schools. 
These  mysieries  were  often  kept  from  their  monarch^, 


16 

who  were  as  credulous  as  the  people  ;  but  perhaps 
more  often  these  kings  were  initiated  into  their  se- 
crets. 

The  Greeks  who  early  cultivated  letters,  made 
made  themselves  acquainted  with  this  learning  of 
Egypt  and  Persia,  and  even  the  farthest  India,  as 
rapidly  as  they  could  in  those  days  of  violence  and 
war.  That  there  should  be  some  sagacious  minds 
constantly  at  work,  is  natural  ;  that  they  thould 
make  discoveries  of  valuable  principles,  and  perhaps 
of  more  valuable  phenomena,  without  knowing  the 
principles  of  them,  is  equally  certain.  These  some- 
times elevated  the  discoverer  into  notice  and  conse- 
quence, of  course  he  would  keep  his  secret  for  his 
own  profit  and  advantage.  If  it  was  in  morals,  or  in 
that  mental  philosophy  from  which  the  discoverer 
could  not  derive  any  immediate  profit,  and  he  wished 
to  make  others  equally  wise,  he  would  of  course 
make  known  to  others  his  secret  under  the  most  sa- 
cred promises  of  concealment,  and  on  certain  condi- 
tions, which  might  bring  others  into  league  with 
themselves,  and  with  equal  responsibilities.  Thus 
it  was  natural  that  each  inventor  should  manage  his 
discoveries  to  the  benefit  of  himself  -and  family.  All 
mechanical  professions  used  the  terms  art  and 
mystery  in  regard  to  apprentices  who  were  bound  to 
serve  them  for  their  instruction.  These  smaller 
mysteries  at  length  expanded  into  larger  ones  ;  rea- 


17 

.sonings  and  principles  were  made  mysteries,  and  each 
faculty  of  knowledge  associated  under  particular  ob- 
ligations to  communicate  their  information  to  each, 
other.  These  iormed  societies,  and  were  of  more 
or  less  importance  as  the  age  in  which  they  lived 
abounded  in  men  of  talents,  or  found  favor  in  the 
eyes  of  Potentates,  or  Nations.  It  is  not  in  the  na- 
ture of  man  that  his  knowledge  should  ever  be  free 
from  imposture,  even  in  the  utmost  extent  of  the 
improvement  of  the  human  race.  In  the  early  ages 
sometimes  the  wise  wore  obliged  to  hide  their  wisdom 
in  fanaticism  or  deceit  for  fear  of  the  ignorance 
around,  as  David  did  his  sanity  in  the  appearance  of 
a  mad  man,  for  fear  of  Achish  ;  and  somtimes  it  took 
this  form  from  a  disposition  to  impose  upon  credulity 
for  their  own  advantage,  for  the  learned  are  not  al- 
ways good.  All  human  knowledge  is  intimately 
connected  with  some  modes  of  religious  belief ;  and 
*t  was  as  distinct  a  law  then,  as  now,  that  men  "  looked 
through  nnture,  up  to  nature"**  God."  These  differ- 
ent creeds  mingled  themselves  with  every  form  of 
knowledge  ;  and  often  it  was  ncessary  to  humour 
the  vulgar  errors  whose  tide  could  not  be  resisted, 
and  security  was  often  found  in  hidden  meanings, 
and  dark  sayings.  The  imagination  of  the  early  in- 
habitants of  the  East  had  peopled  the  world  with  de- 
ities. These  were  brought  to  the  West  and  North 
with  the  learning  of  those  nations,  and  the  produc- 
B2 


18 

tions  of  their  soil.     The  Greeks,  who  were  a  people 
of  taste  and  judgment,  rather  than  ofinvention,  took 
this  importation  as  it  came,  but  the  wisest  of  them 
only  considered  those  Asiatic  Gods   as  personifica- 
tions of  the  passions,  and   simbols   of  thought,  and 
power.     To  say  this  openly  would  have  roused  the 
feelings  of  those  who  were  delighted  with  these  crea- 
tions; for,  after  a  while  every  creature  of  our  belief  is 
treated  with  reverence;  for  man  is  generally  as  fond 
of  the  progeny  of  his  brain,  as  of  his  other  children, 
and  this  would  be  dangerous  :    the  intelligent  there- 
fore, associated,  and  formed  secret  societies  to  en- 
lighten  one  another   in  what    they  considered  the 
nature  and  destiny  of  man,  and  what  ideas  they  had 
of  its  creator ;  thus  originated  in  the  early  days  of 
Greece,  the  mysteries  of  Ceres,  celebrated  in  the 
City  of  Eleusis,and  from  that  circumstance  called  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries.     It  must  of  course  have  been 
got  up  so  as  not  to  offend  popular  prejudice,  and 
therefore  must  seem  to  spring  from  a  super-human 
source.     Ceres  had  this  honor  ;  but  if  we  have  got 
at  their  secrets,  it  was  taught  in  their  inner   school 
that  Ceres  was  only  an  earth-born   dame.     But  the 
whole  current  of  history,  from  the  ages  of  fable,  far 
down  into  the  Christian  history,  goes  to   shew,  that 
to  obtain  the  honor  of  an  initiation,  one  must  be  en- 
lightened, and  of  good  morals  ;  and  that  deviations 
from  Fectitude  were  most  rigidly  punished  by  those 


19 

aonducting  that  institution  ;  and  through  all  the  ages  of 
the  Eumolpidae,  no  Hierophantes — the  High  Priest 
of  this  order,  was  ever  known  to  be  a  profligate  man. 
The  forms  of  initiation  were  solemn,  and  well  cal- 
culated to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  initiate  the 
punishments  of  vice,  and  the  rewards  of  virtue.  The 
society  was  open  to  the  virtuous  of  both  sexes  ;  but 
there  were  lesser  mysteries  for  youths,  and  those  not 
so  well  informed,  and  the  aspirant  ascended  by  de- 
grees as  his  virtues  and  information  increased.  It 
was  the  general  belief  of  the  best  informed  men  that 
this  society  was  of  great  importance  in  keeping  up 
good  morals,  and  this  belief  extended  to  many  who 
did  not  belong  to  the  fraternity.  The  doctrine  of  one 
living  and  true  God,  a  great  first  cause,  was  undoub- 
tedly taught  in  these  mysteries,  which  in  all  ages  has 
been-  a  fundamental  principle  in  inducing  men  to 
practice  virtue. 

At  the  same  time  that  Greece  had  secret  societies 
to  teach  them  with  other  wisdom,  the  worship  of  the 
one  God,  the  Hebrews,  who  had  been  taught  by  rev- 
elation this  great  truth,  had  connected  with  this  wor- 
ship school*  to  perpetuate  the  knowledge  they  had 
acquired  from  their  experience  and  their  intercourse 
•with  the  world.  Religious  forms  were  found  to  be 
the  best  to  keep  up  this  knowledge,  and  in  those 
days  Solomon  who  was  deeply  versed  in  the  wisdom 
of  the  age,  and  much  indeed  in  advance  of  it,  made 


20 

use  of  this  association  in  building  an  edifice  to  the 
Most  High  Gnd  whom  he  worshipped,  to  shew  at 
once  the  greatness  of  Jehovah,  and  the  blessings  he 
had  showered  upon  his  people.  He  knew  enough  of 
the  nature  of  man  to  discern,  that  by  dividing  men 
into  classes,  and  promising  promotion,  was  the  sure 
way  of  securing  their  services,  and  satisfying  their 
ambition.  But  the  highest  honors  after  all  were  not 
bestowed  upon  the  first  builders,  but  on  the  Priests 
who  officiated  in  the  Temple.  The  traditions  that 
have  come  down  to  us  are  clear,  connected,  lull  of 
meaning,  and  are  corroborated  by  every  chronicle  of 
those  days,  so  that  no  man  who  has  examined  them 
can  have  a  doubt  of  it.  If  the  Hebrew  records  were 
lost  this  day,  there  is  enough  of  their  form  of  wor- 
ship incorporated  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  four 
higher  degrees  of  the  seven  degrees  of  masonry  to 
preserve  a  considerable  knowledge  of  the  ceremoni- 
al law  to  all  ages.  (3) 

These  secrets  were  carried  to  Babylon,  and  were 
undoubtedly  kept  alive  until  the  fall  of  Belshaz- 
zar,  when  Daniel,  being  then  the  most  distinguished 
of  this  Hebrew  school,  came  into  favor,  and  in  the 
reign  of  Cyrus,  the  Temple  was  rebuilt,  and  the 
same  attachment  for  their  native  land  and  its  habits 
and  societies  which  had  lasted  through  the  long  cap- 
tivity now  gained  fresh  ardor  ;  and  when  Cyrus  was 
made  acquainted  with  the  hidden  knowledge  of  the 


ftl 

Hebrews,  as  that  of  the  Medes  and  the  Persians,  he 
entertained  a  friendly  feeling  for  this  oppressed  peo- 
pie. 

The  Eleucinian  mysteries  had  been  communicated 
to  Rome,  and  there  took  another  form.  The  wo- 
men of  Rome  took  the  lead.  The  Roman  women  had 
more  to  do  with  public  affairs  than  the  women  of 
Greece  ever  had;  and  the  rites  of  the  Bona  Dca 
were  established  under  their  auspices  and  direction. 
This  was  one  of  the  meatis  in  connexion  with  their 
code  of  laws,  which  kept  their  influence  alive,  and 
permit  me  to  say,  preserved  the  republic  so  long. 
The  rites  of  Ceres  are  mentioned  by  almost  every 
Roman  writer.  Horace  alludes  to  thenij  and  says, 

"  Est  et  fideli  tula  siientio 

Merces  :  Vetabo,  qui  Cereris  sacrum 

Vulgarit  arcanae,  sub  iisdem 

Sit  trabibus,  frag-ilemque  mecum 

Solvat  pliaselum." 

Safe  is  (he  silent  tongue,  which  none  can  blame, 

The  faithful  secret  merit  fame  ; 

Beneath  one  roof  ne'er  let  him  rest  with  me, 

Who  Ceres'  mysteries  reveals  ; 

In  one  frail  bark  ne'er  let  us  put  to  sea, 

!Nor  tempt  the  jarring  winds  with  spreading  sails, 

Virgil  and  others  mention  them  with  respect. 
Cicero  speaks  ofthese  Eleucinian  mysteries  in  the 
same  manner  ;  and  says — "  Athens  seems  to  have 
given  birth  to  many  excellent  and  divine  things,  and 
to  have  introduced  them  among  men  ;  and  indeed 
lone  is  more  useful  than  those  mysteries,  by  which, 


from  wild  and  uncultivated  life,  we  are  pruned  and 
softened  down  to  humanity  ;  and  we  thus  learn  by 
experience  the  initia  (first  principles,)  as  they  art 
called,  are  the  very  principles  of  life.''  It  has  been 
the  opinion  of  the  wisest  men,  that  secret  societies, 
even  the  more  mysterious  existences,  the  Oracles, 
and  all  that  made  up  the  knowledge  of  the  science* 
and  the  arts,  with  all  the  conjectures  about  the  great 
first  cause,  assisted  in  preparing  the  way  to  a  fuller 
revelation  than  man  had  before  been  blest  with.  "God 
darted  from  far,  into  the  minds  of  men,  the  rays  of 
several  great  truths,  to  dispose  them  for  the  reception 
of  others  more  important.  He  prepared  them  for 
the  instructions  of  the  gospel,  by  those  of  philoso- 
phers ;  and  it  was  with  this  view  that  God  permitted 
the  heathen  professsors  to  examine,  in  their  schools, 
several  questions,  and  establish  several  principles, 
which  are  nearly  allied  to  religion  ;  and  to  engage 
the  attention  of  mankind,  by  the  brilliancy  of  their 
disputations.  It  is  well  known,  that  the  philosophers 
inculcate  in  every  part  of  their  writings,  the  exis- 
tence of  a  God,  the  necessity  of  a  Providence  that 
presides  over  the  government  of  the  world,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  the  ultimate  end  of  man,  the 
reward  of  the  good,  and  punishment  of  the  wicked, 
the  nature  of  those  duties  which  constitute  the  bond 
of  society,  the  character  of  the  virtues  that  are  the 
bams  of  morality,  prudence,  justice,  fortitude,  ten> 


23 

perance,  and  other  similar  truths,  which,  though  in- 
capable of  guiding  men  to  righteousness,  were  yet 
of  use  to  scatter  certain  clouds,  and  to  dispel  certain 
obscurities." 

When  the  Christians  first  began  their  course,  they 
were  a  few  simple  men,  but  soon  after  the  apostles 
met  in  their  primitive  way,  others  of  a  more  eleva- 
ted character  came  into  their  belief.  Paul,  who 
was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  and  learned 
in  all  th~e  wisdom  of  the  age,  joined  the  converts,  and 
brought  all  the  stores  of  his  learning  into  the  cause. 
He  became  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  might  thereby 
g-ai'n  .tome.  Except  in  a  few  cities  of  the  Jews,  and 
other  Roman  dependencies,  the  Christians  were  not 
allowed  to  assemble  openly,  and  therefore  had  re- 
course to  dens,  caverns  ;  and  even  the  tombs  of  the 
Scipios,  and  of  other  mighty  dead  near  Rome,  were 
used  for  places  of  secret  meetings,  and  without  doubt, 
they  had  all  the  forms  which  they  had  previously  re- 
ceived from  the  learning  of  other  nations,  and  per- 
haps a  mixture  of  all  the  sign?  and  symbols  that  were 
then  known  to  all  these  nations,  some  of  whose  people 
had  adopted  the  new  faith,  which  enabled  tlir  new  con- 
verts to  Christianity  to  pass  with  safety  and  security. 
Paul  in  his  defence  before  the  court  of  Areopagus, 
spoke  to  them  of  the  Temple  of  the  unknown  God  ; 
this  was  one  erected  by  the  votaries  oJ'the  mysteries 
of  Eleusis,  and  treated  the  subject  as  though  he  wa» 


24 

perfectly  acquainted  with  all  their  secrets  of  religion 
and  laws.  The  fathers  of  the  Christian  Church 
were,  many  of  them,  wise  men,  and  they  found  that 
the  pure  doctrines  of  Jesus  of  Nazereth  would  not 
spread  rapidly  by  simply  preaching  them  in  their  ab- 
stract forms,  and  they  brought  into  the  service  of 
the  Church  certain  imposing  ceremonies,  to  impress 
on  the  human  mind  the  solemnity  and  importance  of 
the  truths  they  taught,  knowing  that  the  eye  is  the 
window  of  the  soul.  They  therefore  took  the  purest 
and  best  of  these  ceremonies  that  could  be  found  ev- 
ery where.  These  preachers  kept  as  near  as  possi- 
ble to  the  Jewish  costume,  and  Jewish  law.  In  ev- 
ery country,  instead  of  outraging  their  customs  and 
habits,  they  conformed  to  them  as  far  as  possible. 
At  Athens  nothing  was  said  against  the  solemn  cer- 
emonies of  Ceres,  nor  at  Rome  against  the  rites  of 
Bona  Dea  ;  that  which  was  wicked  was  preached 
against  ;  that  which  was  harmless  was  passed  by, 
and  whatever  could  come  in  to  aid  the  cause,  was 
readily  selected.  The  author  of  our  religion  knew 
what  was  in  man,  and  he  came  to  purify  and  elevate 
what  was  in  him  ;  not  to  destroy  his  nature,  but  to 
exalt  it  ;  not  to  quench  his  ray  of  knowledge,  but 
to  extend  it  ;  not  to  extinguish  his  love  of  earth,  but 
to  connect  it  with  his  hopes  of  heaven.  Whenever 
his  disciples  pursued  his  policy,  the  doctrines  of  the 
cross  flourished,  and  man  was  made  purer  and  better. 


25 

It  fe  vrelljcnown,  that  learning  flourished  among 
the  Mahomedana  from  the  ninth  to  the  fourteenth 
century.  In  the  days  of  that  splendid  (Jaliph  of  Bag- 
dad, Haroun-al  Raschid,  who  began  his  reign  in 
784,  and  lived  until  809,  letters,  and  arts  and  scien- 
ces were  cultivated  with  more  enthusiasm  than  at 
any  other  period  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Then, 
and  for  several  centuries  afterwards,  the  mind  of 
man  was  in  its  greatest  activity.  All  that  had  been 
known  fo  man  in  former  ages  was  gathered  up,  and 
untrodden  regions  explored.  New  and  splendid  cre- 
ations of  the  imagination  were  poured  forth  every 
day,  to  delight  and  instruct  the  votaries  of  learning. 
The  mind,  the  taste,  the  fancy,  was  kept  perpetual- 
ly feasting.  In  this  golden  age  of  the  Muse,  such 
as  she  will  never  see  again,  this  divine  enthusiasm 
broke  down  all  religious  distinctions  ;  for  in  the 
Courts  of  the  Caliphs  were  seen  those  of  every  creed 
under  the  sun.  In  this  mental  age  a  Lodge  was 
founded  in  Egypt,  after  the  manner  of  the  Pythago- 
reans, and  those  of  India.  The  assemblies  wer« 
called  the  Societies  of  Wisdom,  and  made  their  head 
quarters  at  Grand  Cairo.  In  the  reign  of  the  sixth 
Caliph  of  the  Fatemite  race,  this  Grand  Lodge, 
Dai-al  hiemet,  or  House'of  Wisdom,  was  in  full  glo- 
ry. Here  was  collected  the  greatest  library  in  the 
world,  and  the  largest  number  of  the  literati,  that 
ever  were  congregated  at  one  place,  were  here  ag- 
C 


26 

sembled.  The  Caliph  was  at  the  head  of  them,  and 
delivered  speeches,  or  attended  the  lectures  which 
were  daily  given  in  the  institution.  They  were  di- 
vided into  seven  degrees,  after  the  manner  of  Pyth- 
agoras ;  and  afterwards,  for  men  are  always  striving 
to  do  something  more  than  those  who  have  gone  be- 
fore, two  more  were  added.  These  additional  or- 
ders have  beep  described  by  their  enemies,  and 
much  vilified  ;  but  even  their  enemies  agree,  that 
they  had  all  the  secrets  of  nature  and  art  in  their 
body,  and  much  wisdom  and  eloquence.  The  at- 
tacks they  made  upon  them,  are  in  articles  of  faith  ; 
and  the  well  read  person  must  be  aware,  that  in  ev- 
ery age,  crimination  and  recrimination  have  pre- 
vailed in  all  countries  in  matters  of  religion.  The 
members  of  these  orders  at  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Cai- 
ro, were  divided  into  the  four  Great  Faculties  ; 
LOGIC,  MATHEMATICS,  LAW,  and  MEDICINE.  They 
gave  regular  lectures  in  their  various  branches, 
clothed  in  robes  of  ceremony  ;  which  robes  were 
precisely  the  same  in  form  as  those  now  used  by 
the  Doctors  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  in  England, 
and  at  Cambridge  in  this  country  by  the  President 
and  Professors  on  commencement  days.  This  in- 
stitution at  Cairo  was  supported  in  a  most  magni- 
ficient  style  by  the  Caliphs,  who  gave  for  its  support 
the  immense  sum  of  278,000  ducats  yearly.  The 
persons  of  the  first  order  were  called  Dais  ;  these 


27 

were  near  the  person  of  the  Caliph.  The  Refecks 
were  their  companions  and  friends.  As  the  orders 
of  the  house  of  Wisdom  began  to  decline,  the  ages 
of  Chivalry  began  to  blazon,  out  of  which,  the  Mil- 
itary and  religious  orders  of  Knighthood  grew  up. 
Numerous  causes  had  been  for  centuries  operating 
to  bring  them  forward.  The  gradual  increase  of 
population,  v/ealth  and  power  of  Europe,  particular- 
ly of  France  and  England,  with  the  advancement  of 
tho^e  hardy  virtues  then  practised  by  the  Danes, 
and  other  northern  nations,  had  given  them  celebri- 
ty and  influence.  The  perpetual  wars  taught  them 
the  accomplishment  of  arms,  and  the  light  which 
had  come  frcm  Rome,  and  from  the  East,  had  illu- 
mined their  minds,  while  it  softened  the  f -cecities 
of  war  ;  and  thence  arose  a  splendor  from  the  union 
of  corporeal  and  mental  prowess,  that  had  not  been 
known  before.  Christianity,  that  had  then  been 
spread  over  Europe,  had  elevated  the  rank  of  wo- 
men, in  the  scale  of  being  ;  for  they  had  done  much 
for  its  diffusion  throughout  these  countries,  and  the 
advancement  of  it  had  secured  to  them  rights  that 
had  not  been  given  them  before,  in  barbarous  ages. 
With  their  wishes  for  the  rescue  of  the  holy  land, 
they  mingled  the  courtesies  of  friendship  for  the  de- 
fenders of  their  country.  The  young  men  who  were 
trained  to  arms,  when  the  orders  of  Knighthood 
were  founded,  introduced  some  pledge  of  affectioA 


and  protection  for  women,  which  proved  to  be  of« 
permanent  nature.  The  women  of  the  north  had 
always  held  a  higher  rank  in  the  scale  of  being  thao 
those  of  the  east,  with  a  few  exceptions.  They  not 
•nly  were  the  promoters  of  Christianity,  and  assist- 
ed to  erect  the  altar,  but  they  had  been  found  intht 
feattle  field,  and  often  by  their  presence  had  turned 
the  tide  of  war.  These  military  and  religious  or- 
ders of  Knighthood,  fired  with  love  and  valour,  wish- 
ed to  seethe  land  of  which  they  had  heard  so  much, 
and  which  they  considered  as  then  profaned  by  be- 
ing held  by  the  Ismailites.  The  history  of  the  Cru- 
sades is  familiar  to  all.  The  gallantry  of  the  orders 
•f  Knighthood  ;  their  prodigies  of  valour  ;  their  zeal 
in  getting  acquainted  with  the  wisdom  of  the  east, 
are  equally  well  known  to  all ;  but  the  foundation 
for  the  rancour  with  which  the  Templars,  and  other 
•rders,  have  been  assailed  by  religionists,  and  his* 
torians,  and  lately  by  novelists,  particularly  by  Sir 
TTalter  Scott,  is  not  so  well  known  ;  and  perhaps 
the  cause  of  this  hostility  was  in  some  degree  un- 
known to  those  who  took  pleasure  in  reviling  these 
•rders  of  Knighthood.  We  will  then  spend  a  mo- 
ment in  explanation.  In  the  days  of  the  decline  of 
the  Lodge  of  Wisdom  at  Cairo,  amongst  its  converts 
was  Hassan  Ben  Sabah,  the  founder  of  a  new 
branch  of  this  order,  called  the  Order  of  Assassins, 
or  Eastern  Ismailites,  as  authors  of  that  day  called 


29 

them,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Egyptians,  or 
Mother  Lodge  :  the  term  was  then  used  in  a  harm- 
less sense.  Hassan  was  ambitious,  and  full  of  re- 
sources ;  but  he  loved  power  to  that  extent  that  he 
would  put  both  worlds  at  defiance  to  obtain  it.  Se- 
lecting a  mountain  in  the  north  of  Persia,  he  trained 
his  followers  to  the  same  desperation,  and  pouring 
from  their  fastnesses  in  Mount  Almoot,  he  took  cas- 
tles and  towns  at  will.  They  were  trained — the  up- 
per part  of  the  order,  to  the  higher  knowledge  of 
the  secrets,  and  made  the  minor  part  their  blind  fol- 
lowers. At  the  same  time  the  Knights  were  attack- 
ing Damascus  on  the  west — these  Assassins  were 
attacking  it  on  the  east,  but  without  any  concert,  at 
first,  or  probably  any  knowledge  of  each  other.— 
The  arms  of  the  Assassins  were  daggers.  They 
closed  in  fight,  and  used  every  species  of  cruelty  in 
war.  They  neither  gave  nor  took  quarter  ;  plunder 
was  their  immediate  object,  power  their  general 
aim,  and  murder  their  means.  The  Ismailites  found 
both  enemies  attacking  them  at  once,  and  in  their 
accounts  of  these  campaigns,  groupe<Tlhe  two  or- 
ders together  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered,  that 
the  assailed  were  the  most  prolific  historians  of 
that  day,  and  from  their  accounts,  most  of  these 
things  have  been  taken  by  Europeans  since  ; 
and  in  fact,  it  .vas  impossible  while  enemies  were 
sacking  their  cities,  for  them  to  discriminate  motives. 
C2 


The  Ismailites  of  Damascus  knew  much  of  the  hor- 
rid deeds  of  the  Assassins,  and  pretended  to  know 
all  the  doctrines  they  held,  and  they  were  bad 
enough  no  doubt,  for  the  perversion  of  knowledge  IB 
the  worst  of  crimes.  They  charged  the  Templam 
who  were  engaged  with  the  Assassins  as  having  pro- 
fessed the  same  principles,  and  this  error  has  beea 
propagated  ever  since  ;  but  we  regret  to  see  suck 
«ui  antiquarian  as  Walter  Scott  assisting  to  perpetu- 
ate these  groundless  charges.  But  this  may  pro- 
duce good  in  the  end  ;  for  one  way  of  finding  out 
truth  is  by  the  boldness  of  falsehood.  The  Agt  of 
Reason  produced  "the  Apology  for  the  Bible,"  and 
the  blasphemies  of  the  infidel  often  affords  to  us  a 
lesson  upon  the  depravity  of  the  human  mind  whea 
it  travels  beyond  its  powers  ;  but  the  reaction  was 
equal  to  the  attack  ;  yea,  much  greater  ;  and  the 
hidden  truths,  and  magnificent  proofs  of  the  authen- 
ticity of  our  religion,  grew  more  evident,  in  propor- 
tion to  its  danger.  The  misrepresentation  was  in- 
deed, natural,  for  what  difference  could  the  ill-treat- 
ed Damascenes  see  between  the  sword  of  the  Tem- 
plar, or  that  of  any  other  Christian  knight,  and  the 
dagger  of  the  Assassin,  when  both  were  directed 
against  himself  and  his  people,  and  kindred.  In  the 
sight  of  heaven  there  was  a  difference.  The  Assas- 
sins have  perished  and  left  no  trace  behind,  but  in 
the  memory  of  those  nations  which  have  written  the 


St. 

epitaph  of  the  Assassin  in  revenge.  The  Templar* 
have  been  vilified  and  scattered,  shorn  of  their  glo- 
ries and  abased,  and  suffered,  for  centuries,  tht 
scorn  of  nations  ;  but  they  have  still  a  name  and  a 
praise  left,  which  will  grow  purer  and  brighter  witk 
the  lapse  of  ages.  The  Templars  have  had  a  Grand 
Master  through  a  long  succession  of  years,  and  are 
now  reviving  the  record  of  their  glories,  and  polish- 
ing their  escutcheon.  The  world  owes  them  much 
for  what  they  have  done  :  The  learned  and  the  fair 
should  never  suffer  them  to  be  reviled  in  history  or 
legend  ;  for  in  the  cause  of  both,  they  fought  and 
bled,  free  from  selfishness,  or  sinister  motives,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  refinement  of  modern  na- 
tions, on  a  broad  and  firm  base.  I  have  blended  the 
orders  of  Knighthood  together,  for  in  our  day  it  ie 
difficult  to  divide  them,  without  entering  into  details 
too  minute  for  the  general  reader,  and  unnecessary 
for  my  purpose.  I  atn  happy  in  seeing  a  general 
attention  to  these  Christian  orders  in  this  country  ; 
it  argues  well  for  the  taste  of  the  times.  There  can- 
not be  too  many  stimulants  in  our  minds  to  this  lofty 
virtue  which  fhe  order  inoulcafes.  arid  has  preserv- 
ed in  the  darkest  hours  in  the  history  of  man,  since 
they  grew  up  to  notice  and  honour. (4) 

We  will  now  return  to  the  age  of  the  introduction 
of  Masonry  into  Great  Britain,  about  which  tim» 
this  secret  society  took  the  name  of  masons,  being 


32 

builders  ;  some  derive  the  term  from  a  French  word, 
some  from  a  Latin  word,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  de- 
cide, and  the  question  is  not  one  of  much  impor- 
tance. It  was  then  a  society  who  had  knowledge 
and  skill,  not  only  in  the  art  of  designing  a  struct- 
ure, but  in  all  the  arts  which  are  required  to  finish 
it,  which  extends  to  glass-makers,  workers  in  iron 
and  brass,  and  almost  the  whole  circle  of  the  arts. 
With  this  knowledge,  as  but  little  of  it  was  in  bookg, 
they  had  certain  obligations  to  bind  them  into  a  fra- 
ternity of  artists,  and  men  of  professional  knowledge; 
and  they  had  amongst  them  certain  traditions  from 
other  countries,  and  from  men  of  former  days,  whose 
virtues,  and  zeal  in  building  houses  to  God,  had  be- 
come renowned  ;  such  Gods  as  they  were  taught  to 
believe  in  :  and  this  stimulated  them  in  their  relig- 
ious duties,  and  inspired  them  with  brotherly  love, 
whose  fruits  are  always  harmony  and  prosperity. 
Their  different  degrees  were  the  natural  advances 
of  knowledge  ;  and  assisted  as  in  the  case  of  the  wise 
King  of  Israel  in  the  government  of  their  order. 
Glastonbury  Abbey  is  supposed  by  some  antiquari- 
ans to  have  been  the  first  work  of  the  Craft.  Pope 
Gregory  and  St.  Austin  were  the  friends  of  these 
early  masons  ;  the  latter  was  their  Grand  Master. 
Alfred  the  wise  of  Northumbria,  who  had  been  ed- 
ucated in  Ireland,  and  who  was  in  advance  of  his- 
subjects  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  well  as  in  lite- 


38 

rature,  began  his  reign  in  G86,  was  the  friend  and 
protector  of  the  Craft  ;  but  it  was  reserved  for  Al- 
fred the  Great,  about  two  centuries  afterwards,  to 
be  their  first  great  protector,  patron,  and  brother. 
This  extraordinary  man  appropriated  one  eighth  of 
all  the  Royal  revenues  of  his  kingdom,  and  which, 
by  his  knowledge  of  political  economy,  and  his  prac- 
tice of  judicious  taxation,  was  a  very  large  sum,  to 
the  craft,  and  built  Abbeys,  Monasteries  and  Chap- 
els during  the  whole  of  his  reign.  He  placed  hit 
instructor,  confessor,  adviser  and  primate,  at  th« 
head  of  the  craft,  and  every  one  who  wished  to  b« 
distinguished  applied  himself  to  some  branch  of  me- 
chanical knowledge.  Alfred  worked  in  gold,  and 
became  quite  an  adept  in  the  business.  A  late  An- 
glo-Saxon writer  says,  that  some  specimens  of  his 
workmanship  were  in  existence  not  many  years 
since.  This  Great  King  studied  the  Hebrew  and 
other  oriental  languages  to  get  at  their  history,  and 
to  sound  the  hidden  depths  of  their  knowledge, 
He  considered  this  institution  as  one  of  the  great 
means  of  civilizing  his  subjects,  of  whom  he  com- 
plains as  sadly  ignorant.  In  a  few  years  after  the 
demise  of  Alfred  in  926,  the  first  English  Lodge 
was  collected  and  established  under  the  immediate 
care  of  Edward  the  elder.  This  lodge  was  the  care 
and  pride  of  Athelstan,  the  first  king  of  all  England, 
fcis  predecessors  not  having  extended  their 


54 

o-Yer  the  whole  Island.  This  monarch  was  well  ed- 
ucated, bold,  liberal  and  discerning.  He  gave  the 
Craft  constant  labor,  and  placed  them  high  in  the 
scale  of  his  favourites.  He  founded  during  his  reign 
more  than  forty  houses  of  a  religious,  scientific  and 
charitable  character.  In  the  reign  of  Edwin  or  Ed- 
wy,  as  many  historians  call  him,  about  965,  Duns- 
tan,  known  in  history  as  St.  Dunstan,  arose.  Liv- 
ing  near  Glastonbury  it  is  said  that  he  received  hit 
first  inspirations  in  the  old  Church  we  have  mention- 
ed, and  became  a  politician,  a  prelate  and  a  saint, 
in  rapid  succession.  He  bwcdnie  grand  Master  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity  in  England,  and  was  a  tru« 
and  powerful  friend  to  the  Craft  until  the  day  of  hit 
death.  His  wonderful  influence  gave  them  a  very 
high  standing  at  that  early  age  of  improvement. 
Masonry  declined  from  his  day  until  about  1050, 
when  Edward  the  confessor,  a  wise  and  learned 
monarch  took  masonry  into  his  favor,  and  gave  the 
masons  privileges  and  distinctions  as  members  of  the 
Lodge  of  England,  for  then,  all  masons  in  that 
country  ranked  as  members  of  one  Lodge.  The 
subordinate  branches  were  considered  as  mere  em- 
enations  for  several  years  afterwards.  When  Wil- 
liam of  Normandy  come  to  England  in  1066,  and 
succeeding  in  conquering  it,  masonry  was  in  a 
flourishing  condition  ;  but  what  part  he  took  in  it,  we 
do  not  know;  at  least,  as  far  as  my  researches  extend,. 


35 

history  is  quite  silent  upon  the  subject ;  others  may 
have  been  more  successful  in  their  exertions  to  get 
information  on  this  point.  The  nation  was  under- 
going a  change  in  its  records  and  institutions,  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  conquerer  and  reformer  had 
too  much  to  do  to  look  after  particular  societies,  and 
too  many  calls  for  his  wealth  to  expend  it  on  Church- 
es or  Converts.  Masonry  however,  must  have  been 
flourishing  in  no  small  degree  in  the  first  century 
after  William  of  Normandy,  for  the  fraternity  have 
many  of  the  words  in  their  ancient  works  which 
were  formed  about  that  time  out  of  the  old  Saxon 
words  partaking  in  some  degree  of  Norman  termin- 
ations. The  College  of  Oxford  was  commenced,  it 
was  said,  by  Alfred,  to  keep  alive  all  the  informa- 
tion the  people  of  his  kingdom  could  collect.  He 
established  this  institution  in  order  that  learning 
need  not  be  interrupted  by  war,  or  court  quarrels, 
but  that  the  walks  of  learning  should  be  free  from 
fears  and  contentions. 

In  1272  the  fraternity  was  again  gathered  by  the 
Arch-Bishop  of  York,  who  was  Grand  Master,  and 
employed  then  in  finishing  Westminster  Abbey,  a 
work  which  the  Craft  had  commenced  an  half  cen- 
tury previous  ;  but  from  some  cause,  probably  but 
little  known  at  this  time,  the  work  was  not  contin- 
ued :  they  were  also  employed  in  building  other 
Colleges  at  Cambridge  and  Oxford  at  this,  and  in 
subsequent  times. 


36 

During  the  long  and  disastrous  wars  between  the 
Houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  all  the  Lodges  were 
suspended,  and  the  fraternity  were  only  found  in 
private  meetings.  They  had  sworn  to  banish  par- 
ty feuds  from  their  borders,  and  they  shut  up  their 
Lodges  in  order  to  preserve  themselves  pure  from 
this  charge.  Henry  the  7th  when  he  came  to  the 
throne  of  England,  was  so  fully  convinced  that  it 
had  been  efficaicous  in  softening  the  calamities  of 
civil  war,  that  ho  called  the  fraternity  together,  and 
enrolled  himself  among  them,  and  became  a  true 
friend  to  them.  Masonry  was  in  favor  with  Henry 
the  8th,  and  when  that  great  child  of  honor,  Car- 
dinal Woolsey  was  at  the  zenith  of  his  power,-  he  was 
installed  Grand  Master,  and  gave  the  fraternity  hon- 
ors commensurate  with  his  own.  By  the  Craft  he 
built  the  Colleges  he  founded.  He  was  accquain- 
ted  with  the  orders  of  knighthood  which  had  been 
auper-added  to  masonry  at  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
century,  and  the  commencement  of  the  twelfth. 
With  the  fraternity  Woolsey  had  enrolled  most  of 
the  learned  men  in  the  kingdom,  and  then  the  first 
masonic  lectures  were  given  ;  I  mean  those  public 
lectures  which  were  given  at  Oxford  on  the  scien- 
ces. From  the  fall  of  this  great  man,  for  great  in- 
deed he  was,  we  see  him  through  the  medium  of 
history  only  as  an  ambitious  Ecclesiastic,  striving 
for  the'chair  of  St.  Peter,  and  as  an  avaricious  man, 


37 

amassing  wealth;  but  there  was  another  side  ofth« 
picture,  and  this  is  dear  to  every  lover  of  learning. 
"  He  was  a  scholar,  a  ripe  and  good  one, 
Exceeding  wise,  fair  spoVen,  and  persuading;" 
and  if  he  was  ambitious,  he  was  ambitious  of  giving 
glory  to  his  age,  as  an  era  of  knowledge.  Power 
has  often  been  courted  for  worse  purposes.  Thom- 
as Cromwell  was  his  successor  as  Grand  Master  ; 
he  died  on  the  scaffold.  He  was  a  zealous  ma- 
son, but  this  was  never  set  down  as  one  of  his  crimes 
by  his  enemies.  He  was  a  great  and  good  man, 
who  had  the  misfortune  to  serve  a  capricious  tyrant. 
The  history  of  the  reigns  of  Edward  and  Mary,  as 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  is  silent  upon 
the  condition  of  the  craft  ;  but  in  all  probability  they 
were  not  in  good  odour,  for  masonry  seldom  flour- 
ishes when  bigots  bear  sway.  We  find  in  the  reign 
of  Elizabeth  this  singular  fact,  that  when  the  Lodg- 
es were  resuscitating  from  a  long  slumber,  that  she, 
not  being  fully  acquainted  with  their  designs,  and 
the  nature  of  the  institution,  sent  an  order  for  them 
to  desist  ;  but  on  being  so  far  let  into  their  secrets 
as  to  form  a  correct  judgment  of  the  nature  and  ten- 
dency of  their  society,  she  became  a  good  friend 
to  the  order,  and  protected  them  throughout  her  long 
and  prosperous  reign.  In  her  time  Inigo  Jones, 
the  great  architect,  was  the  active  head  of  the  craft. 
He  built  many  fine  edifices  by  their  assistance,  and 
D 


38    , 

continued  an  active  member  of  the  fraternity  until 
extreme  old  age  deprived  them  of  his  usefulness. 

In  1666,  after  the  great  fire  of  London,  the  ma- 
sons made  every  exertion  to  have  the  city  built  up 
with  more  taste  and  regularity  than  it  had  before 
exhibited.  In  the  time  of  Cromwell,  every  thing  was 
for  a  while  absorbed  in  that  conventicle  spirit,  which, 
like  Aaron's  rod  swallows  up  all  around  it,  and  we  hear 
but  little  of  masonry,  until  the  return  of  Charles  the 
2d,  who  had  been  initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the 
craft  while  absent  from  his  country,  an  exile. 
When  he  came  again  to  power,  he  became  the 
friend  of  the  fraternity,  and  protected  and  patron- 
ized them  as  much  as  such  an  indolent  and  volup- 
tuous man  could  ;  but  as  a  proof  of  the  purity  and 
elevation  masonry  was  in,  when  Villers,  Duke  of 
Buckingham  was  grand  master,  he  gave  up  his 
charge  as  feeling  that  his  profligate  life  was  a  stain 
upon  the  jewels  ofthe  oider.  When  bigotry  began 
again  to  assume  power  and  influence,  masonry  be- 
gan to  decline  ;  and  during  the  time  James  the  sec- 
end  filled  the  throne  of  England,  clamors  were  in- 
cessent  against  the  craft ;  but  when  William  of  Or- 
ange came  to  the  throne,  the  masons  once  more  re- 
vived. William  was  a  mason,  and  so  much  attach- 
ed to  the  order  that  he  presided  in  a  lodge  ;  and  it 
is  said  by  the  chronicles  of  that  age,  that  he  was  an 
excellent  master  mason,  and  presided  with  due  care 
to  all  the  rights  ofthe  brethren. 


39 

In  the  first  part  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Ann,  iwafar 
sonry  was  neglected,  but  she  was  so  far  enlightened 
as  to  the  true  designs  and  principles  of  masonry,  as 
to  become  a  warm  friend  of  the  order,  and  a  patron- 
ess as  long  as  she  lived.  At  this  time,  many  of  the 
scholars  of  the  realm  joined  the  fraternity,  and  their 
accession  of  learned  men  was  remarkable,  for  it 
made  an  era  in  masonry.  The  great  metaphysician, 
John  Locke,  had  previously  joined  the  masonic 
family,  and  in  some  of  his  writings  had  spoken  with 
great  respect  of  them.  He  endeavoured  to  show 
that  some  masonic  papers  coming  through  the 
French  language  into  English  in  a  rude  translation, 
purporting  to  have  been  the  opinions  held  by  Peter 
Gore,  were  no  others  than  those  of  Pythagoras.  The 
testimony  of  so  great  and  so  good  a  patriot  and  schol- 
ar as  John  Locke  is  of  no  small  importance  in  our  fa- 
vor, if  it  stood  alone  ;  but  it  is  corroborated  by  oth* 
«rs,  wise,  and  good  as  he. 

In  1720,  the  masons  met  with  a  great  loss  in  the 
destruction  of  their  records  by  fire.  This  loss  wa 
deeply  lamented,  for  these  records  were  very  ancient 
and  valuable.  This  destruction,  it  has  been  thought 
was  the  work  of  some  weak  brothers,  who  were  ap- 
prehensive that  the  secrets  of  masonry  would  be  di- 
vulged if  they  were  not  destroyed.  The  oriental 
scholar  might  as  well  be  alarmed  at  leaving  an  Ar- 
abic manuscript  in  some  place  where  children  might 


40 

see  it,  for  fear  they  would  carry  off  all  the  learning 
it  contained.  Weak  friends  are  often  more  danger- 
ous than  magnanimous  enemies.  From  the  earliest 
ages  the  fraternity  had  encouraged  charity  in 
thought,  word  and  deed  ;  but  it  was  reserved  for 
the  Duke  of  Buccleugh,  in  the  year  1720,  who  was 
then  grand  master,  with  his  associates,  to  institute 
a  permanant  charity  fund.  The  plan  succeeded 
wonderfully  well,  and  has  been  imitated  ever  since 
in  this  country  as  well  as  in  England,  not  only  by 
grand  but  subordinate  lodges. 

In  1733  the  first  Grand  lodge  was  established  in 
America.  Its  history  and  progress — the  men  who 
have  taken  part  in  our  society,  will  be  the  subject 
of  our  next  lecture.  We  have  too  long  spoken  of 
masonry  in  barren  generalities,  and  sweeping  ex- 
pressions ;  but  the  time  has  come  when  we  must 
come  to  facts,  principles  and  arguments  ;  all  of 
which  are  at  hand  for  the  use  of  the  sincere  mason  ; 
and  a  portion  of  which  we  shall  attempt  to  bring 
forth.  Our  deficiencies  will  be  hereafter  supplied 
by  those  of  more  learning  and  leisure  We  claim  no 
merit  in  our  undertaking,  but  that  of  honest  intention, 
and  some  little  industry. 


LECTURE  XX, 

"  'Tis  a  heavenly  light 
Impregnating  the  soul ;  secret  it  acts, 
Unconscious  of  all  motives  but  its  own  ; 
Equal  to  gods  and  men,  it  forms  its  laws, 
And  bears  but  one  effect,  from  one  unaltered  cause .V 

After  masonry  was  brought  into  this  country  in 
1733,  from  England,  it  was  soon  propagated  in  the 
several  provinces,  and  flourished,  notwithstanding 
some  difficulties  had  arisen  between  the  ancient 
York  masons  and  those  of  other  parts  of  England. 
The  Lodges  in  Scotland  were  involved  in  the  dis- 
putes which  reached  this  country,  and  for  a  while 
threatened  to  retard  the  progress  of  the  craft  here. 
These  difficulties  were  by  the  prudence  of  the  early 
friends  to  masonry  overcome,  and  it  was  in  a  very 
flourishining  condition  when  the  revolutionary  war 
commenced.  During  the  war,  Lodges  were  held  at 
every  convenient  place  by  the  officers  of  the  Amer- 
ican as  also  by  the  British  army,  and  in  one  instance 
when  the  regalia  of  an  American  Lodge  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  it  was  restored  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. After  the  peace  of  1783,  masonry  again  re- 
vived, and  the  craft  seemed  deeply  engaged  in  ex- 
D2 


42 

tending  its  blessings  as  rapidly  as  the  people  of  hoa- 
est  intentions  and  good  hearts  became  convinced  of 
its  utility,  and  were  desirous  of  belonging  to  the 
fraternity.  Such  has  been  the  progress  of  the  sci- 
ence of  masonry,  that  we  have  now  more  than  dou- 
ble the  number  of  Lodges,  including  Chapters  and 
Encampments,  &.c.  in  this  country,  than  there  are 
in  Great-Britain,  including  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
Masonry  travelled  with  those  who  emigrated  to  the 
west,  and  grew  up  with  them,  and  kept  pace  with 
the  march  of  population  and  intelligence  in  that 
quarter.  There  cannot  be  less  than  eight  hundred 
well  conducted  and  regular  working  Lodges,  inclu- 
ding Chapters,  Encampments,  &c.  now  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  whose  members  are  amongst  the  most 
active,  intelligent,  honest  and  productive  part  of  the 
population  of  the  country.  There  are  nominally  a 
greater  number.  Wherever  these  Lodges  have 
grown  up  and  flourished,  the  village,  town  or  city 
has  flourished  also  ;  and  in  general,  in  proportion 
to  their  numbers,  has  been  the  harmony  and  good 
affections  of  the  people. 

We  will  leave  the  history  of  the  progress  of  ma- 
sonry for  some  time,  and  proceed  to  consider  some 
of  the  objections  to  masonry  which  are  now  urged 
with  that  vehemence  that  seems  to  require  us  to  re- 
pel them,  not  by  vindictive  retorts,  but  by  fair  and 
manly  arguments.  The  opposers  of  masonry  in  the 


48 

first  place  object  to  all  secret  societies  ;  because, 
say  they,  plots,  treasons,  &.c.  may  grow  up  in  them. 
This  objection  is  not  a  new  one,  it  was  made  ages 
ago  by  those  tyrants  who  were  in  perpetual  dread 
of  losing  their  power  ;  and  it  is  now  repeated  by 
those  who  have  nothing  to  fear  from  this  source,  and 
merely  repeated  from  habit,  without  thoroughly 
weighing  the  objection.  The  true  meaning  of  a  se- 
cret society  is,  when  the  existence  of  the  society  is 
kept  secret,  as  well  as  their  deeds  ;  not  when  the 
existence  of  it  is  avowed,  and  only  the  forms  of  pro- 
ceedings are  not  divulged.  If  the  forms  of  masonry 
are  secret,  the  society  is  not,  but  is  accessible  to  all 
who  have  the  qualifications  of  honesty  and  intelli- 
gence who  wish  to  gain  them.  How  then  can  that 
body  be  dangerous  whose  doors  are  always  ready 
to  be  opened  when  worth  and  wisdom  approach  and 
demand  admittance  ? 

Another  objection  to  us  is  that  we  have  sounding 
names  that  can  have  no  meaning  in  them,  but  arc 
used  with  the  intention  of  imposing  on  the  credu- 
lous. The  answer  to  and  refutation  of  this  objection 
are  ready  at  hand.  The  original  names,  Master 
and  Wardens,  are  simple  enough  for  any  one — mas- 
ter being  used  in  so  general  a  manner  in  domestic 
and  covnmon  life  as  to  reach  the  humblest  person  in 
the  community,  if  he  has  the  government  or  instruc- 
tion of  a  single  child,  or  an  apprentice  ;  and  war- 


44 

dens  is  a  good,  familiar  old  English  word  to  express 
a  guardian  care  of  persons  or  property  in  ecclesias- 
tical or  domestic  relations.  The  appellation— Wor- 
shipful— was  very  common  in  olden  time,  and  used 
to  express  a  respect  for  those  who  had  power  or  in- 
fluence, without  hereditary  or  official  titles.  There 
was  no  assumption  or  arrogance  in  these  appella- 
tions, for  it  must  be  remembered  they  were  give* 
in  humility  to  many  who  had  titles^  wealth  andy*ame, 
without  these.  When  the  other  degrees  were  giv- 
en, they  hardly  kept  pace  with  the  titles  then  givea 
to  the  priesthood,  and  other  orders.  They  repre- 
sented in  their  offices  distinguished  personages ; 
and  many  of  them  were  titled  magnates  of  the  land  j 
and  of  course,  their  appellatives  were  in  some  de- 
gree in  conformity  to  those  personages.  It  must 
be  remembered  also,  that  in  the  countries  that  gave 
birth  to  these  terms,  there  are  many  titles  in  use  : 
His  Holiness  ;  Hit  Majesty  ;  His  Grace  ;  My  Lord  ; 
Reverend,  and  Right  Revwend  Fathers  in  God  ;  and 
Honorables,  and  Right  Honorables,  all  abound  ;  and 
shall  we  be  censured  for  having  Worshipfuls,  and 
Right  Worshipfuls,  Grand,  and  Eminent,  and  Most 
Eminent,  particularly  as  most  of  them  in  those  days 
who  bore  these  titles  had  won  them  by  virtue  and 
valor.  There  is  not  one  of  these  titles  made  by  us, 
and  shall  we  venture  to  change  them  ?  Ko  ;  surely 
Bot;  so  long  as  our  republican  people  continue  m 


45 

political,  civil,  and  ecclesiastical  bodies  their  un- 
meaning titles  of  His  Excellency,  His  Honor,  or 
any  such  relics  of  regal  and  aristocratic  ages.  We 
us  masons  use  these  terms  only  while  the  insignia 
of  office  are  on  us  ;  others  are  often  used  long  after 
the  cause  for  using  them  has  ceased. 

Our  regalia  and  dress  are  sometimes  called  "  gor- 
geous trappmgs,"  and  said  to  be  ill-suited  to  the 
simplicity  of  our  other  institutions.  These  too,  w« 
did  not  design  ;  they  came  down  to  us,  and  if  cor- 
rectly read,  are  full  of  beauty  and  meaning.  Ar- 
morial bearings  are  as  old  as  the  history  of  civilized 
man.  The  exploits  of  individuals — national  deeds — 
and  mental  and  martial  achievements,  have  been  bla- 
zoned on  shields,  painted  on  walls,  and  written  in  his- 
tory. Heraldry,  from  which  our  emblazonings  came, 
is  a  beautiful  science,  and  abused  only  by  those  who 
do  not  understand  it.  Every  thing  in  it  has  a  mean- 
ing :  It  is  the  condensed  and  powerful  language  of 
emblems,  speaking  to  the  eye  volumes  of  honor,  for 
deeds  of  merit.  Some  authors  have  called  the  lan- 
guage of  masonry  a  hieroglyphic  language  ;  but 
this  is  not  precisely  correct.  It  is  not  alone  a  lan- 
guage of  signs  ;  but  these  emblems  are  heraldric  as 
well  as  hieroglyphic  ;  they  not  only  convey  thoughts 
upon  ethics  but  are  historical,  as  medals,  and  es- 
cutcheons. These  rightly  read  are  full  of  beautiful 
truths,  not  only  of  the  heart,  but  are  memorials  of 


46 

acts,  and  impressive  signatures  of  duty,  and  teach 
also  many  lessons  to  all  degrees  and  classes  of  men. 
The  volume  is  large,  and  hardly  any  thing  mor« 
than  the  title  page  is  generally  read.  So  much  for 
our  language  as  it  strikes  the  eye  ;  the  ear  by  the 
assistance  of  memory  has  also  a  spoken  language, 
which  when  united  with  that  of  the  former,  contains 
secrets  worth  knowing,  not  only  for  every  day  use, 
but  for  the  purest  codes  of  honor  and  principle. 

These  very  regalia  and  dresses,  so  offensive  to 
many  persons  of  the  present  day,  contain  not  a  sin- 
gle article  that  is  not  of  great  antiquity.  The  Medea 
wore  the  tiara,  as  well  as  the  priests  of  Israel.  Th« 
whole  furniture  and  arrangements  of  a  Lodge  room 
are  from  antiquity,  and  so  is  that  of  a  modern  Chris- 
tian church.  The  first  Christian  church  that  was 
erected,  was  built  in  Tvre,  on  the  ruins  of  an  an- 
cient temple.  The  ceremonies  of  the  dedication  of 
this  church  have  been  the  model  for  all  dedications 
since.  The  form  of  the  altar  in  our  Lodges, 
as  well  as  the  altars  in  the  Christian  churches 
are  modeled  from  ancient  tombs.  The  skull  and 
cross  bones  were  in  former  days  laid  on  the  masonic 
altar,  as  well  as  on  that  of  the  anchoret.  The  cer- 
emonies of  the  synagogue,  the  masonic  lodge  room, 
and  the  mosque,  originated  in  the  schools  of  tlit 
east,  and  a  champion  of  the  Christian  religion  has 
said  that  "  Christianity,  iu  fact,  is  at  one  and  the 


47 

Same  time  a  kind  of  philosophic  sect,  and  an  aa- 
tique  system  of  legislation.  Hence  the  abstinen- 
ces, the  fasts,  the  vigils,  of  which  we  find  traces  in 
the  ancient  republics,  and  which  were  practiced  by 
the  learned  schools  of  India,  Egypt  and  Greece. 
The  more  clearly  we  scrutinize  this  question,  the 
more  we  are  convinced  that  the  greater  part  of  the 
insults  aimed  at  the  Christian  worship,  will  recoil 
upon  antiquity."  This  was  said  in  defence  of  the 
church,  and  we  have  a  right  to  it  most  certainly,  in 
•upport  of  our  own  ceremonies. 

A  moralist  has  said  that  human  life  it  a  web  ef 
mingled  yarn  ;  and  it  may  with  equal  propriety  be 
*aid  that  there  are  threads  of  every  hue  and  mate- 
rial in  the  warp  and  woof  of  masonry,  from  every 
web  that  ingenuity  or  accident  has  interwoven  in  the 
destinies  of  man,  which  may  be  easily  traced  on  the 
cloth-ground  ;  but  it  requires  caution  and  patience 
<o  draw  them  out  for  examination. 

At  the  time  of  the  revival  of  masonry  in  the  reign 
of  Queen  Ann,  when  so  many  men  of  letters  joined 
the  order,  the  craft  had  not  much  to  do  with  building, 
but  revived  the  speculative  and  ethical  part  of  the 
science,  and  perhaps,  added  to  it  new  beauties  by 
extending  their  lectures  farther  than  when  the  ope- 
rative part  was  connected  with  it.  Still  the  brethren 
never  forght  that  they  were  once  operative  as  well 
as_  speculative,  masons,  but  laid,  in  all  due  ceremo- 


48 

aies  the  corner  stones  of  almost  every  puplic  edifice 
which  was  erected  in  that  day  ;  which  practice  has 
continued  until  this  time.  Many  of  the  Lodges  at 
this  time  had  lecturers  who  were  very  learned  men, 
and  gave  exhibitions  of  skill  in  the  arts  and  sciences 
for  the  benefit  of  the  brethren,  and  every  day  added 
some  new  fact  or  principle  to  the  general  stock  of 
knowledge.  It  has  been  said,  that  if  masonry  has 
been  of  use  in  rude  ages  before  the  light  of  Christ- 
ianity beamed  upon  us,  it  is  now  of  no  advantage  to 
mankind,  when  the  sciences  are  taught  in  every 
school  and  college,  and  morality  and  divinity  from 
every  pulpit.  When  all  mankind  are  Christians,  and 
all  agree  in  one  creed,  and  practice  the  same  vir- 
tues without  quarrelling  with  one  another,  it  will  be 
time,  then,  I  grant,  to  think  that  masonry  is  super- 
seded by  it,  and  that  then  Lodges  will  be  no  longer 
necessary.  The  philanthropist,  who  early  seized 
upon  masonry,  as  breathing  the  most  perfect  spirit 
of  toleration,  and  well  adapted  to  carry  it  into  effect, 
the  language  being  general,  neither  interfering 
with  any  religious  form  of  worship,  or  form  of  gov- 
ernment, may  then  think,  he  shall  require  its  aid 
no  longer  ;  but  until  that  time  comes,  he  will  not 
relinquish  his  hold  on  this  great  engine  of  that  tol- 
eration which  brings  to  bear,  charity,  duty,  and 
conventional  obligations  on  the  intercourse  and  wel- 
fare of  men.  The  angry  feelings  of  men  grow  raotp 


turbulent  from  not  understanding  one  another  cof- 
rectl/.  This  has  often  been  exemplified  in  tjie  warft 
of  different  nations.  Masons  of  every  country  can 
easily  make  themselves  known  to  their  brethren  of 
the  most  distant  nation,  or  the  most  dissimilar  in  lan- 
guage and  inhabits.  To  this  spirit  of  toleration  we 
are  indebted  for  the  progress  in  the  arts  and  scien- 
ces, and  the  decay  ofthose  prejudices  that  have  sd 
often  made  the  world  a  battle  field  and  drove  deso- 
lation over  the  fairest  countries  on  the  globe.  It 
has  not  only  diffused  liberality,  but  it  has  given  fa- 
cilities to  commerce,  which  has  ever  been  the  gold- 
en chain  which  binds  nations  together. 

Masonry  is  likewise  beneficial  in  our  Republican 
institutions.  To  make  a  man  a  good  citizen  with 
us,  he  should  be  acquainted  with  all  our  modes  of 
doing  business.  The  first  lesson  that  we  should  be 
taught  after  that  of  duly  estimating  our  liberties,  is  a 
knowledge  of  the  forms  to  reach  the  essence  of  that 
freedom  we  possess.  A  well  constituted  Lodge  is 
careful  to  preserve  the  rights  of  every  brother,  to 
give  a  fair  opportunity  to  every  one  for  expressing 
his  sentiments  with  all  freedom  and  openness.  This 
he  has  an  opportunity  of  doing  every  day  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  it  learns  him  that  decorum  and  obe- 
dience which  is  at  once  the  life,  and  the  charm  of 
all  deliberative  bodies.  I  have  attended  schools  of 
elocution,  and  societies  for  learning  the  art  of  de1- 
E 


50 

bating  a  question  ;  but  I  have  never  found  one  so 
well  adapted  to  teach  the  young  mind  the  art  of 
spreading  his  views  of  a  subject  before  an  assembly 
of  men,  as  a  well  regulated  Lodge.  The  authority 
vested  in  the  master  by  ancient  usage  is  ample  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  order,  and  the  rights  of  ev- 
ery brother  are  too  well  denned  to  prevent  any  pow- 
er from  encroaching  upon  them.  The  doctrine  that 
no  personal  reflections,  or  cutting  suggestions,  or 
improper  allusions  should  ever  be  suffered  by  the 
presiding  officer,  makes  a  lodge  room  at  once  the 
most  chaste  and  correct  arena  for  debate,  ever  yet 
invented.  Here  the  speaker  is  bound  to  respect 
his  brethren — bound  to  dispense  with  all  irritating 
observations,  and  to  confine  himself  rigidly  to  his 
subject.  Warmth,  zeal,  and  passion  may  sometimes 
be  seen  in  the  discussions  of  a  Lodge,  but  the  mas- 
ter's mallet  has  more  power  than  the  speaker's  mace, 
or  the  sheriff's  wand  in  keeping  order.  Some  ofthe 
most  gentlemanly  debaters  in  our  Halls  of  legisla- 
tion received  their  first  lessons  in  a  masonic  Lodge. 
From  the  Lodges  of  Masons  have  been  borrowed 
almost  all  the  leading  rules  and  orders  which  are 
considered  as  Parlimentary  at  the  present  day  ;  and 
this  will  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise  when  we  con- 
sider how  many  eminent  men  have  acted  as  Grand 
Masters  in  former  ages,  while  these  rules  and  orders 
grew  up. 


51 

Another  advantage  to  be  derived  from  Masonry 
is,  that  a  close  attention  to  the  subject  strengthens 
the  memory.  A  bright  mason  must  be  a  man  of 
fresh  and  vivid  recollections  ;  he  must  treasure  up 
so  much  in  his  memory  of  the  abstract,  so  much  that 
strikes  the  eye,  and  the  ear,  that  he  becomes  a  full 
and  ready  man  by  this  science  alone.  These  treas- 
ures are  of  every  day  use  teo  ;  for  there'  is 
hardly  a  line  of  masonry  that  has  not  a  bearing  ou 
some  act  of  life,  or  could  be  made  to  bear  upon  it. 
It  is  difficult  for  men  to  trace  the  origin  of  a  par- 
ticular thought,  nor  are  they  always  desirous  of  go- 
ing up  to  the  springs  of  knowledge,  but  the  mason 
knows  that  many  a  good  thought  and  expression 
have  been  taken  from  our  code  by  those  who  were 
not  aware  of  their  esoteric  meaning  ;  but  this  is  not 
sufficiently  known  for  us  to  have  the  credit  of  it— - 
"  the  light  shinetli  in  darkness,  but  the  darkness  com- 
prchcndelh  it  nof." 

Masonry  is  one  of  the  best  restrainers  of  vice 
that  can  be  found  in  the  community  ;  for  the  penal 
codes  of  nations  contain  no  other  preventives  of 
vice  than  what  arise  from  the  penalties  threatened 
for  every  offence.  These  penalties  operate  but  fee- 
bly on  ardent  temperaments  ;  in  the  fury  of  the  pas- 
sions these  penalties  are  forgotton,  or  disregarded  j 
but  masonry  has  in  her  code  the  severe  penalties  of 
contempt,  neglect,  and  expulsion.  The  law,  how- 


ijver  sanguinary,  cannot  punish  an  intention  t©  com- 
mit a  crime,  unless  an  act  follows  ;  but  masonry  at 
the  first  symptoms  frequently  checks  the  progiess  of 
crime,  when  the  law  could  do  nothing  ;  and  we  go 
further,  and  punish  crimes  and  offences  after  they 
are  committed  which  the  laws  cannot  reach  ;  such 
as  oppression,  ingratitude,  uncourteousness,  and 
want  of  philanthropy.  It  frequ  cntly  enters  the  doors 
of  domestic  life,  and  reconciles  parties  who  had  out- 
raged no  law  of  the  land  ;  but  still  were  pursuing  a 
course  to  make  much  misery  to  themselves  and 
•thefs.  Et  reclaims  in  many  instances  bad  hab- 
its before  they  have  become  fixed  and  stubborn. 
It  often  happens  that  gentle  means  are  the  best  even 
in  the  worst  of  cases  ;  simple  remedies  are  some- 
times effective  when  compounds  and  powerful  ones 
fail.  Masonry  often  destroys  feuds  in  their  incipi- 
ent stages,  in  the  secrecy  of  the  Lodge. 

Besides  the  perennial  effects  of  masonic  charities 
which  flow  in  silent,  secret  streams  to  the  widow's 
humble  dwelling  to  cheer  her  and  her  orphan  child- 
ren, there  are  on  record,  and  in  the  memories  of 
many  yet  living,  signal  instances  of  masonic  gener- 
osity and  chivalrous  conduct.  The  history  of  our 
wars,  if  they  were  minutely  written  out,  would  fur- 
nish many  instances  of  this  character.  In  the  mas- 
sacre that  followed  the  surrender  of  Fort  William 
Henry  in  1757,  those  who  were  saved,  except  th<" 


53 

lew  who  defended  themselves  by  rushing  on  the  CH- 
emy  and  getting  their  arms  in  the  energy  of  despair, 
were  saved  by  the  masons  among  the  French  offi- 
cers. This  was  a  current  report  at  that  time,  and 
has  been  confirmed  by  the  solemn  declarations  of 
many  of  those  heroes  since  in  the  hearing  of  the 
writer.  In  the  war  of  the  revolution  the  diffusion 
of  masonry  among  the  American  officers  was  the 
mean  of  reconciling  the  jarring  interests  and  soft- 
ening the  sectional  feelings  of  those  otherwise  dis- 
cordant materials.  Duels  were  prevented  in  many 
cases  of  quarrels  by  brother  masons  forming  a  court 
of  honor,  and  by  taking  upon  themselves  to  control 
those  over  whom  they  had  a  certain  conventional 
eontrol.  This  was  not  all,  it  was  acknowledged  that 
masonry  did  much  in  softening  the  hard  lot  of  the 
prisoners  on  both  sides.  The  departed  patriot  he- 
roes of  the  revolution  were  witnesses  of  this  fact. 
Some  few  are  left  to  tell  the  tale  again .  They  were 
patrons  of  the  institution  when  peace  was  restored 
and  independence  secured.  Knox,  Brooks,  Jack- 
son, and  many  others  within  my  knowledge,  took  a 
deep  interest  in  masonry  and  were  active  members 
of  lodges  until  death  or  old  age  deprived  the  frater- 
nity of  their  services.  I  have  seen  Governor  Brooks 
in  the  last  years  of  his  life  join  in  a  dedication  and 
installation  of  a  lodge  in  his  neighborhood,  and  take 
a  part  in  the  ceremonies  with  the  enthusiasm  of  ear- 


54 

Her  days,  mingled  with  the  solemn  glow  of  political 
virtue,  and  the  Christian  hopes,  as  from  age,  and 
oorporeal  infirmities  he  was  reminded  that  a  change 
of  worlds  was  nigh.  Could  he  have  believed  that 
masons  were  wicked  above  other  men  ?  Could  such 
a.  patriot  have  thought  that  such  frightful  political, 
moral  and  religious  evils  were  wrapt  up  in  ma- 
sonry ? 

Many  of  the  enemies  of  masonry,  who  think  that 
it  may  not  be  wicked,  say  that  it  is  in  their  opinion 
a  trifling,  silly  institution,  unworthy  the  dignity  of 
thinking,  elevated  men,  who  wish  to  be  philoso- 
phers and  Christians.  I  would  ask  them,  if  they  be- 
Heve  that  such  a  man  as  Benjamin  Franklin,  wh« 
was  constantly  looking  for  what  was  mental,  useful, 
practical  and  charitable,  would  have  spent  his  time 
which  he  considered  so  valuable,  in  following  up  a 
useless  institution  for  so  many  years  of  his  life,  and 
have  uniformly  expressed  his  attachment  for  a  tri- 
fling, silly  society  ?  And  I  would  ask  those  who  say 
that  masonry  is  unprincipled  and  wicked,  how  such  a 
man  as  the  late  Bishop  Bass,  a  learned,  pious  and 
amiable  divine  in  this  country,  could  have  been 
seen  at  masonic  festivals,  addressing  the  fraternity 
on  the  principles  of  their  order  ?  Could  patriots, 
philosophers  and  holy  men  have  gone  on  through 
Jife,  supporting,  honoring,  and  blessing  a  body  of 
men  without  principle,  utility  or  virtue  ?  No,  the 


55 

inference  must  fairly  be  that  they  were  hypocrite* 
or  that  masonry  contains  something  valuable. 

Of  the  uses  of  masonry  in  the  war  of  1812,  I  can 
speak  distinctly.  Thousands  of  dollars  were  ex- 
pended to  assist  the  poor  prisoners  who  were  on 
board  of  our  prison  ships  from  Louisiana  to  Maine, 
and  I  am  equally  certain  that  many  of  our  country- 
men who  had  the  misfortune  to  be  made  prisoners 
were  benefited  by  masons,  and  some  of  the  unfor- 
tunate who  received  this  benefit  had  no  connexion 
with  the  order,  but  the  brethren  among  the  enemy 
hearing  what  had  been  done  in  this  country,  were 
emulous  not  to  be  surpassed  in  their  deeds  of  kind- 
ness as  masons,  and  therefore  extended  their  assist- 
ance to  others  who  were  not  masons.  Are  such 
things  nothing  ?  Shall  generosity,  benevolence, 
kindness,  and  all  the  virtues  of  the  heart  be  praised 
only  in  the  abstract,  and  no  honor  awarded  to  good 
deeds  ?  Reverence  is  due  to  faith,  but  as  men,  we 
must  accord  our  love  and  admiration  to  works  ; 
both  are  commended  by  our  Father  in  Heaven. 

The  military  officers  who  have  fought  on  our 
frontiers,  and  others  have  spoken  freely  and  openly 
of  the  beneficial  effects  of  masonry  on  the  charac- 
ter and  habits  of  our  frontier  Indians.  Several  in- 
stances of  masons  having  been  rescued  from  the 
tomahawk  and  the  faggot  have  been  mentioned,  and 
of  the  correctness  of  which  there  can  be  no  doubt. 


56 

How  strong  must  be  that  principle  that  can  overcome 
the  spirit  of  revenge  in  a  savage  breast  ?  From  the 
numerous  instances  current  among  us  of  the  strong 
influence  of  masonry  in  healing  moral  breaches  and 
softening  asperities,  we  might  fill  a  large  volume, 
but  permit  me  to  relate  one  of  these  instances  illus- 
trative of  the  preceding  remarks  and  only  one  ;  ma- 
ny are  within  the  knowledge  of  my  hearers  which 
they  will  readily  bring  to  their  recollections  when 
this  is  mentioned.  A  gentleman  of  high  distinction 
in  the  litterary  and  scientific,  as  well  as  political 
world,  and  on  whose  accents  senates  have  hung 
with  delight,  and  to  whose  deep  stores  of  knowledge, 
not  only  the  sages  of  the  law  in  this  country,  but 
distant  Monarchs  are  much  indebted  for  liberal  and 
expanded  views,  and  excellent  schemes  for  restrain- 
ing vice,  and  tempering  justice  with  mercy — was 
not  long  since  master  of  a  common  lodge  amongst 
our  southern  brethren.  Towards  the  close  of  an 
evening's  labor,  when  the  charge  was  to  be  given 
to  one  who  had  that  night  been  initiated  into  the 
mysteries  of  the  craft, and  he  had  come  up  to  the  chair 
to  receive  it,  the  quick  eye  of  the  master  saw  sit- 
ting at  a  distance,  the  brother  of  him  who  had  ap- 
proached to  receive  a  lesson  of  duty,  moody,  dark 
and  silent.  Between  the  brothers  there  had  been 
the  most  deadly  feud — one  that  had  eaten  like  a 
cancer  upon  their  vitals,  and  had  spread  a  leprosy 


57 

over  their  lives,  tainting  all  around  them,  or  connec- 
ted with  them  :  The  one  about  to  receive  the  charge 
had  been,  it  was  said,  the  most  obdurate.  The 
charge  was  begun  : — The  text  the  master  took  a« 
the  initiate  advanced,  was  from  the  language  of  him 

who   spake  as  never  man   spake "  Therefore,  if 

thou  bring  thy  gift  to  the  altar,  and  there  rememberest 
that  thy  brother  hath  aught  against  thee  ;  leave  there 
thy  gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  thy  way  :  first  be  rec- 
onciled to  thy  brother,  and  t/ien  eome  and  offer  thy 
gfi//."  The  miseries  of  contention  and  discord  were 
strongly  depicted  by  the  speaker  :  he  dwelt  upo» 
the  deadliness  of  the  moral  poison  of  family  conten- 
tions— a  poison  that  earth  could  not  suck  up,  or 
time  destroy  ;  a  poison  that  springs  afresh  from 
the  grave,  of  those  who  had  concocted  it,  to  curse 
their  descendants  to  the  remotest  ages.  The  lis- 
tener trembled  at  the  appalling  truths — his  soul  was 
a  witness  to  them  to  its  fullness  j  now  looking  wist- 
fully and  wildly  around  the  room,  fearing,  yet  wish- 
ing to  catch  the  eye  of  his  brother — the  master  s«aw 
and  changed  his  tone,  and  portrayed  the  kindly  in- 
fluences of  brotherly  love — how  far  it  softened  the 
calamities  of  life,  and  took  the  sting  from  death. 
He  dwelt  upon  the  new  obligations  the  initiate  had 
assumed,  and  reminded  him  that  the  place  in  which 
he  then  was,  should  be  considered  sacred  to  fraternal 
sympathies,  and  was  consecrated  to  affection — a 


58 

place  in  which  every  pledge  was  given  to  cultivate 
every  fond,  every  generous  emotion  ;  and  that  "  if 
there  be  a  Paradise  on  earth,  this  is  it — 'tis  this" — to 
quench  at  once  in  the  overflowings  of  affection  and 
forgiveness  the  heart  burnings  of  enmity,  and  to  wash 
away  the  long  scores  of  rancour  and  bitterness 
that  had  withered  the  soul.  The  brother  who  had 
sat  retired,  as  he  heard  sentence  after  sentence  of 
the  charge,  had  moved  by  a  timid  step,  nearer  to  the 
altar,  and  watched  in  agony  the  influence  these 
truths  had  on  his  brother's  mind  ;  their  eyes  met — 
volumes  were  spoken  at  a  glance.  Oh!  what  a  mo- 
ment, for  two  that  had  drank  the  stream  of  life  from 
one  maternal  bosom  ;  they  looked  once  more,  and 
rushed  into  each  other's  arms  : — brother  forgive  me 
— broke  from  the  hearts  of  both,  in  half  suffocated 
and  inarticulate  words.  What  a  wreath  for  elo* 
quence  !  What  a  triumph  for  Masonry  ! 

Any  bond  of  union,  if  at  first  arbitrary,  and  con- 
ventional when  founded  on  correct  principles,  soon 
becomes  familiar,  easy,  pleasant,  and  perhaps  in  the 
end  fascinating.  Association  and  proximity  produce 
a  sympathy  which  expanded  over  the  whole  surface 
of  our  affections  is  the  source  of  much  of  our  hap- 
piness. The  masonic  bonds  of  union  are  conven- 
tional, not  arbitrary,  but  at  once  seize  our  hearts, 
and  when  properly  treated,  produce  many  excellent 
fruits  in  our  lives.  Masonry  has  been  a  nursery 


59 

from  which  many  excellent  plants  have  been  taken 
in  every  age  and  climate.  The  loveliest  principle 
in  the  science  of  Heraldry — a  science  abounding 
in  most  admirable  precepts,  and  most  beautiful  al- 
legory, was  taken,, in  a  good  measure,  from  mason- 
ry, when  Heraldry  was  forming  its  elements  into  a 
science  ;  the  principle  is  this  ;  that  whenever  two 
«r  more  meanings  can  be  given  to  any  emblems,  or 
any  motto,  the  best  possible  reading  is  to  be  used  ; 
for  instance,  if  a  fox  is  introduced,  you  are  to  c«n- 
sider  the  sagacity  of  the  animal,  without  any  other 
quality  of  his  nature  ;  if  a  dog,  his  faithfulness,  and 
his  affection,  without  thinking  of  his  fawning  ;  if  a 
lion  couchant,  of  his  repose  and  magnanimity,  with- 
out inferring  that  he  could  spring  upon  his  prey 
from  his  attitude  ;  if  the  king  of  beasts  is  represent- 
ed rampant,  it  is  not  to  express  a  savage  rage,  but 
a  majesty  in  avenging  his  wrongs.  These  very 
doctrines,  however,  for  we  are  far  removed  from  the 
ages  in  which  they  sprang  up,  are  still  virtually  in 
use  in  the  masonic  code. 

Charity  is  taught  in  our  order  as  a  principle,  and 
practised  upon  as  an  example,  for  all  in  and  out  of 
the  craft.  Almsgiving  is  considered  by  masons  as 
being  only  one  branch,  and  but  a  small  one,  of  be- 
nevolence, in  its  true  signification  and  extent,  for 
there  is  a  charity  that  suffers  long,  and  that  speak- 
eth  kindly,  and  seajcheth  diligently  for  the  beat 


60 

construction  to  be  put  upon  the  deeds  of  our  friendc 
and  brethren  ;  and  this  is  often  the  means  of  doing 
more  good  than  many  other  forms  it  can  take. 

A  well  regulated  lodge  is  a  healthy  place  for  a 
sound  mind  ;  for  the  atmosphere  of  benevolence  is 
balmy  to  generous  souls,  and  often  medicinal  to 
those  sick  with  penurious  and  avaricious  feelings. 
In  such  a  society  a  member  cannot  proceed  a  sin- 
gte  step  without  being  reminded  of  some  du- 
ty, of  without  finding  some  salutary  precept  to 
direct  him  in  the  discharge  of  it.  Many  good  deeds 
would  have  been  done,  if  the  mind  of  those  who  felt 
a  disposition  to  do  well  had  been  enlightened  inth« 
course  to  pursue.  We  have  aphorisms  and  rules  at 
haud  for  adl  these  cases  if  we  have  properly  read 
our  profession  ;  these  axioms  are  as  readily  found 
in  the  masonic  code,  as  those  for  the  protection  of 
property  and  in  favor  of  life  are  in  the  common  law. 
In  other  branches  of  knowledge  one  person  is  com- 
monly set  apart  to  inform,  and  catechise  the  rest ;  in 
a  well  ordered  Lodge,  though  one  presides  with  am- 
ple powers  to  restrain  and  direct,  yet  all  and  each 
have  an  opportunity  to  enforce  their  opinions  at  al) 
times  without  fear  of  exposure  or  an  insnlt  from  the 
auditory,  the  restraining  power  in  the  master  which 
we  have  mentioned,  being- sufficient  to  keep  perfect 
order  within  a  Lodge.  There  numerous  opporiunir 
ties  occur  of  displaying  the  most  impressive  elo- 


61 

queuce  ; — 'when  the  orphan  sues,  and  age  and  de- 
crepitude faintly  intimate  their  wants  and  sufferings, 
the  heart  wakes  to  benevolence  and  the  tongue  be- 
comes as  it  were  a  flame  of  fire. 

"Yes  ;  to  thy  tongue  shall  seraph  words  be  given 
And  powV  on  earth  to  plead  the  cause  of  Heaven  ; 
The  proud,  the  cold  untroubled  heart  of  stone, 
That  never  mused  on  sorrow  but  its  own, 
Unlocks  a  generous  store  at  thy  command, 
Like  Horeb's  rocks  beneath  the  prophet's  hand. 
The  living  lumber  of  his  kindred  earth, 
Charm'd  into  soul,  receives  a  second  b'rth  ; 
Feels  thy  dread  power  another  heart  afford, 
Whose  passion-touch'd  harmonious  strings  accord 
True  as  the  circling  spheres  to  Nature's  plan  ; 
And  man,  the  brother,  lives  the  friend  of  man." 

We  do  not  as  a  body,  pretend  to  put  Masonry  on 
a  level  with  Christianity,  but  it  was  once  the  harbin- 
ger, and  is  now  the  handmaid  of  religion.  We  do 
not  pretend  to  say  that  it  furnished  the  decalogue, 
but  only  that  a  wise  God  permitted  those  who  had 
read  his  character  in  the  volume  of  nature,  before 
this  period  in  which  the  revelation  was  made,  to 
quarry  the  stone  and  smooth  the  surface  of  the  tab- 
let on  which  the~divine  precepts  of  the  moral  law 
were  written  by  the  finger  of  Omnipotence.  We  do 
not  pretend  that  our  precepts  in  the  mouths  of  hea- 
then philosophers  were  as  sweet,  and  breathed  so 
purely  the  air  of  heavenly  love  as  those  which  are 
contained  in  the  sermon  on  the  mount,  but  this  we 
can  say,  that  the  precepts  there  found  were  adooted 
F 


62 

as  soon  as  known,  as  matters  of  morals,  before  the 
question  of  faith  was  agitated.  Seneca  felt  the  in- 
fluence of  this  inspiration,  but  he  had  drank  of  the 
spring  without  knowing  from  whence  it  had  flowed. 
As  a  pure  stream  by  gentle  distillations  gives  ver- 
dure tq  the  banks  it  does  not  overflow,  so  Christianity 
lefreshed  and  purified  the  minds  of  those  whose 
stains  were  not  washed  out  by  its  living  waters. 

Some  of  our  fraternity  have  unfortunately  in  their 
zeal  represented  masonry  as  Christianity  itself,  and 
others  who  have  not  gone  quite  so  far,  have  likened 
it  to  Christianity  ;  thus  taking  connexion  for  identi- 
ty. The  Christian  religion  can  be  identified  with 
nothing  :  It  is  of  itself — itself  alone.  Masonry,  in 
the  wisdom  of  ancient  days,  speculated,  reflected, 
desired,  prayed,  and  darkling  found  the  way  to  a 
God.  The  Christian  religion  unveiled  a  God  at  once 
in  all  his  glories.  The  Deity  of  human  wisdom  was 
created  after  the  imaginations  of  men,  with  the  pas- 
sions of  our  natures  and  subject  to  changes  in  the 
fluctuations  of  time  ;  but  the  Most  High  of  the  holy 
scriptures  inhabits  eternity,  and  is  the  same  yester- 
day, to-day  and  for  ever,  in  holiness  and  godhead. 
The  partial  revelations  of  the  majesty,  and  power, 
and  goodness  of  the  same  great  Being,  by  ephod, 
by  oracle,  or  sage  and  seer,  fell  far  short  of  the  gos- 
pel dispensation.  The  simplicity  of  Christianity  ; 
its  depths  of  moral  feeling  ;  its  prostration  of  the 


63 

natural  maa  ;  its  directness,  without  a  particle  of 
worldly  subterfuge,  and  above  all,  its  rising  above 
the  maxims  of  human  wisdom  in  the  commandment 
to  love  our  enemies,  and  to  do  good  to  those  who  do 
evil  to  us,  stamps  it  at  once  with  a  divine  seal.  If 
the  perfect  sway  of  Christianity  had  now  come,  then 
might  we  say  to  all  moral  codes,  to  all  human  learn- 
ing, and  laws,  we  have  no  further  need  of  your  aid; 
but  it  has  not  fully  come,  nor  can  it  come,  in  its 
fulness,  while  man  is  constituted  as  he  now  is.  It 
is  only  a  foretaste  that  we  now  have.  When  the 
sway  is  perfect,  wars  and  strifes  shall  be  at  an  end. 
The  pure  atmosphere  of  love  shall  then  surround 
mankind  ;  ambition  will  then  be  dead,  avarice  ex- 
tinct, and  perfect  equality  be  every  where  found. 
As  yet,  Christianity  has  only  a  limited  reign  and  its 
influence  only  partially  felt.  All  the  bad  passions 
of  man  are  still  alive,  and  in  action,  only  partially 
restrained  by  the  developments  of  the  pure  princi- 
ples of  Christianity.  The  world,  in  the  best  estate 
it  has  ever  been  known,  requires  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments to  make  men  do  good  and  shun  evil.  The. 
light  of  human  learning  is  required  to  illume  it,  and 
the  proper  use  of  all  the  stores  of  experience  are 
still  needed  to  guide  it  ;  as  yet,  but  a  small  part  of 
our  actions  are  governed  by  the  true  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity. We  could  no  more  practice  the  christ- 
ian  virtues  in  their  real  purity  in  all  cases  than  a 


64 

man  could  live  by  inhaling  the  etheriel  portion  of 
the  atmospheric  air  which  science  separates  from 
the  grosser  parts  for  a  trial  of  its  effects  by  inbreath- 
ing. The  body  can  support  it  but  for  a  moment, 
and  the  mind  instantly  loses  its  sanity,  in  convulsive 
extacies  under  its  influence.  It  is  too  pure  for  us, 
and  we  turn  at  once  to  the  impure  element  in  which 
we  were  plunged  at  our  birth,  to  acquire  a  tone  to 
fit  us  for  the  duties  of  life.  It  is  a  pleasant  belief 
that  our  natures  are  to  be  prepared  for  purer  things 
hereafter,  to  receive,  the  divine  influences  of  Chris- 
tianity as  natural  elements  and  to  partake  of  that 
happiness  which  the  eye  hath  not  seen,  or  ear  heard, 
•r  the  heart  of  man  concieved,  as  an  inheritance  from 
infinite  Goodness. 

I  have  said  that  Christianity  was  like  nothing  else  j 
it  is  not  to  be  likened  to  any  thing.  Human  learn- 
ing in  all  the  stages  of  its  progress  was  connected 
with  the  pride  of  human  intellect  ;  and  man  contem- 
plated in  self-satisfaction  the  Babylon  he  was  build- 
ing at  every  step  in  the  advancement  ofhis  labors.  It 
was  not  so  with  Christianity.  Its  author  was  born 
in  a  manger  ;  yet  angels  sung  hymns  of  praise  at 
his  birth :  He  was  the  child  of  humble  parents,  yet 
t  he  wise  men  of  the  east  did  reverence  to  the  infant 
Jesus.  He  drank  at  no  hu  man  fountains  for  his  wis- 
dom, yet  knowledge,  power,  mercy  and  truth — the 
attributes  of  Deity — were- with  him  ;  suffering,  ap- 


65 

ony  and  death  were  with  him  also.  He  erected  no 
temple  for  his  fame  or  worship  ;  wrote  no  line  to 
teach  the  world  his  wisdom  ;  he  left  it  in  the  hearts 
and  memory  of  his  followers.  He  bent  to  the  storm 
of  human  passions,  was  condemned  by  the  acclama- 
tions of  a  frenzied  mob,  was  ignominiously  scourg- 
ed by  cruel  men,  and  died  the  death  of  a  malefactor, 
whispering  to  degraded  man  the  hopes  of  paradise, 
and  breathing  a  sigh  of  compassion  on  his  murder- 
ers ;  and  making  by  his  sacrifice  the  very  blood 
from  his  wounds  that  stained  their  hands,  the  instru- 
ment of  washing  the  stains  of  guilt  from  their  souls. 
To  say  that  masonry  is  the  Christian  religion  is  false; 
to  say  that  it  is  opposed  to  it  is  equally  false.  Ma- 
sonry has  in  common  with  Christianity  a  thousand 
admirable  maxims  to  teach  us  how  to  live,  and  some- 
thing of  the  hopes  of  a  future  life  ;  but  Christianity 
alone  can  teach  us  how  to  die  and  fit  us  for  the  life 
to  come.  It  is  not  necessary  in  defending  ourselves 
from  the  slanders  of  the  defamer  and  the  doubts  of 
the  honest  inquirer  that  we  should  put  in  our  claims 
for  even  so  much  as  we  are  entitled  to  ;  for  our  case 
can  be  made  out  without  it,  and  it  is  a  part  of  our 
creed  that  our  charities  and  virtues  should  rather 
be  seen  by  him  who  searcheth  the  hearts  of  men, 
than  by  men  themselves.  One  reason  why  masonry 
has  by  some  zealous  brethren  been  considered  the 
same  as  Christianity,  is  that  masonry  has  in  some 
F2 


66 

degree  incorporated  among  its  mysteries  that  of  a 
belief  in  the  trinity,  but  this  belief  did  not  come 
from  Christianity,  but  was  prior  to  it.  It  burst  in  a 
manner  most  miraculous,  in  various  forms,  and  iR 
different  ages,  from  the  heathen  writers,  as  believed 
by  some  of  the  most  learned  Christians  now  living,  as 
veil  as  by  many  of  their  predecessors. 

It  is  said  that  the  primitive  mathematicians  found 
an  irrestable  argument  for  the  trinity  in  the  proper- 
ties of  the  triangle  ;  faith  sees  many  things  beyond 
the  comprehension  of  the  natural  understanding,  and 
this  may  be  one  of  them.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  that  the  all-seeing  eye  .was  placed  within 
the  lines  of  the  triangle  in  the  early  ages  of  knowl- 
edge ;  but  what  that  proves  must  be  decided  by 
those  wiser  than  I  am,  or  ever  expect  to  be.  It  may 
come  from  the  same  pious  enthusiasm  that  now  reads 
in  the  incarnations  of  the  Hindoo  Deity  the  type  of 
the  Messiah — and  compares  the  nine  appearances 
of  the  former 'with  an  equal  number  of  revelations 
in  the  scriptures  ;  such  as  the  talking  of  God  with 
Adam  ;  his  appearance  to  Abraham  ;  his  communi- 
cations to  Moses  in  the  burning  bush  ;  his  writing 
the  decalogue  ;  the  cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar  of 
fire  by  night ;  the  filling  of  the  temple  with  his  glo- 
J-y  ;  the  voice  of  the  prophets  Isaiah  and  of  others  ; 
the  rebuilding  of  the  temple  ;  and  the  birth  of  our 
$aviour;  and  the  tenth  incarnation  of  the  Hindoo 


67 

Deity,  which  is  hourly  expected  by  the  Bramins,  is 
said  also  to  shadow  forth  the  second  coming  of  our 
Lord,  which  is  an  article  of  the  Christian  faith,  tak> 
en  from  its  author's  own   declarations.     The  tenth 
appearance  of  Brama  is  a  splendid  religious  fiction 
to  be   found  in  the  most  sacred  of  the  Hindoo  writ- 
ings, and  is  brought  to   our  knowledge   by   Jones' 
prose   and   Campbell's  verse,  two  glorious  vehiclee 
of  light.     It  is  a   much   condensed  and   impressive 
account  of  the  faith  of  countless  millions  in  the  east'. 
"Nine  limes  have  Brama's  wheels  of  lightning1  hurl'd 
His  awful  presence  o'er  the  alarmed  world  ; 
Nine  times  hath  Guilt,  through  all  Iiis  giant  frame, 
Convulsive  trembled,  as  the  Mighty  came; 
Nine  times  hath  suffering  Mercy  spared  in  vain — 
Bui  Heaven  shall  burst  her  starry  gates  again  ! 
He  comes  !  dread  Brama  shakes  the  sunless  sky 
With  murmuring  wrath,  and  thunders  from  on  high. 
Heaven's  fiery  horse,  beneath  his  warrior  form, 
Paws  the  light  clouds,  and  gallops  on  the  storm  ! 
Wide  waves  his  flickering  sword  ;  his  bright  arms  glow 
Liike  summer  suns,  and  light  the  world  below  ! 
Earth,  and  her  trembling  isles  in  Ocean's  bed, 
Are  shook  ;  and  Nature  rocks  beneath  his  tread  !" 

With  all  its  imagry,  concentration,  and  splendor 
of  genius  that  surrounds  it,  how  far  short  it  falls  of 
that  power  of  Godhead  contained  in  the  few  words 
of  our  Saviour  : 

"But  in  those  days,  after  that  tribulation,  the  sun  shall  be 
darkened,,  and  the  moon  shall  not  give  her  light ;  And  the  stars 
of  heaven  shall  fall,  and  the  powers  that  are  in  heaven  shall  be 
shaken.  And  'hen  shall  they  see  the  Son  of  man  coming  in 
the  clouds,  with  gaeat  power  and  glory.  And  then  shall  be 
send  his  angels,  and  shall  gather  together  his  elect  from  the 


68 

four  winds,  from  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth  to  the  utter- 
most part  of  heaven." 

Chateaubriand  says  that  the  trinity  was  known  to 
many  nations  of  the  world  before  the  Christian  era, 
and  adduces  his  proofs.  (5)  To  say  the  least  of 
them,  there  is  something  miraculous  about  them, 
and  worthy  the  attention  of  the  divine  who  has  learn- 
ing and  talents  to  comprehend  the  depths  of  ancient 
mysteries.  But  I  have  brought  up  these  matters 
scattered  through  a  wide  extent  of  curious  learning, 
not  as  a  thing  of  parade,  but  to  show  the  reader 
that,  in  my  opinion,  those  who  have  identified  ma- 
sonry with  the  Christian  religion  were  men  of  re- 
search and  honesty,  and  sincere  in  their  belief,  that, 
the  doctrines  of  the  trinity  were  found  in  the  science 
of  masonry  ;  how  it  came  there,  perhaps,  they  had 
not  thought  much  about  ;  but  surely,  their  the- 
ory was  more  plausible  and  better  grounded  than 
many  now  prevalent  among  us.  My  own  opinion 
is,  however,  that  we  had  better  not  defend  masonry 
upon  the  ground  that  it  may,  or  does  contain,  this 
deep  mystery,  for  it  is  always  dangerous  to  push  an 
argument  to  the  extreme  ;  and  although  I  would  not 
break  a  lance  with  the  credulous  for  believing  more 
than  I  can,  yet,  I  do  not  feol  myself  bound  to  de- 
fend a  brother  where  belief  ^  •  s  iar !  eyond  my  own, 
any  further  than  to  bear  testimony  to  his  honesty, 
when  I  know  it.  In  fine,  I  think  this  subject  too 


69 

high  and  too  holy  for  a  discussion  for  any  pages, 
but  those  devoted  entirely  to  the  mysteries  of  God- 
liness, which  transcend  all  other  mysteries.  I  should 
not  have  touched  upon  this  subject,  if  it  had  not 
lately  been  pressed  with  great  force  into  the  ques- 
tion of  masonry,  by  many  of  our  zealous  friends, 
I  know  the  things  of  time  are  intimately  blended 
with  those  of  eternity,  and  that  the  whole  life  of  man 
should  be  a  preparation  for  death,  yet  still  I  cannot 
help  thinking  that  these  great  things  which  seem  to 
approach  the  throne  of  God  so  nearly  should  be  set 
apart  from  all  others,  and  approached  with  rever- 
ence and  awe  ;  we  should  come  near  the  burning 
bush  with  bare  feet  and  naked  hearts,  and  enter  the 
sanctuary  with  uncovered  heads  and  humble  feel- 
ings. There  is  a  disposition  to  make  these  things 
too  common,  and  I  hope  I  shall  remain  one  of  those 
who  turn  without  a  word  from  an  argument  in  a  stage 
coach  or  a  drawing  room  on  tho  precise  nature  of 
the  Author  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  these  places 
the  subject  is  as  often  introduced  as  that  of  the  news 
of  the  day.  I  do  not  think  that  there  is  the  power 
in  the  human  mind  to  fix  upon  the  precise  extent  of 
its  own  belief,  any  more  than  the  eye  can  tell 
the  exact  distances  of  the  objects  it  perceives.  It 
is  sufficient  for  all  the  ordinary  purposes  of  life  to 
know  that  the  sun  shines  by  day  and  the  moon  and 
stars  follow  by  night,  without  the  exactness  of  sci- 


70 

ence,  or  the  conjectures  of  the  imagination,  on  ev- 
ery ray  of  these  mighty  mysteries  of  the  heavens. 
Who  knows  enough  of  the  councils  of  God  to  say 
that  there  have  not  been  flashes  of  revelation  on  the 
minds  of  the  seekers  of  truth,  in  former  ages  of  the 
world,  of  which  the  effects  and  not  the  modes  of  the 
communication  have  reached  us  ? 


XXX. 


"  Let  us 

Act  with  cool  prudence,  and  with  manly  temper, 
As  well  as  manly  firmness. 
'Tis  godlike  magnanimity  to  keep, 
When  most  provok'd,  our  reason  calm  and  clear, 
And  execute  her  will,  from  a  strong  sense 
Of  what  is  right,  without  the  vulgar  aid 
Of  heat  and  passion,  which,  though  honest,  bear  us 
Often  too  far." 

When  we  are  assailed,  my  brethren,  it  is  proper 
to  number  and  examine  our  enemies,  and  see  in 
what  manner  we  can  answer  them.  Perhaps  we 
can  convince  some  that  we  are  pursuing  a  proper 
course  as  patriots  and  Christians  ;  and  we  may  on 
this  examination  find  that  the  enmity  of  some  class- 
es is  not  worth  the  trouble  of  attempting  a  refuta- 
tion of  their  errors.  Those  who  are  hostile  to  us 
are  generally  of  the  following  classes:  The  bigot, 
the  tyrant,  the  superstitious,  and'the  bad,  are  the  nat- 
ural enemies  of  mosonry.  The  bigot  is  opposed 
to  masonry,  for  it  teaches  liberal  doctrines  ;  it  teach- 
es the  right  to  discuss  principles,  and  to  examine 
dogmas  ;  to  search  into  divine  as  well  as  human 
things,  and  to  look  after  truth  in  earth  and  heaven 
with  a  reverence  for  religion,  and  in  a  hope  of  futu- 


72 

rity.  To  reason  with  him  were  in  vain,  for  he  shuts 
his  eyes  to  the  light,  and  what  can  we  do  ? 

The  tyrant  is  opposed  to  masonry  because  it  holds 
as  a  first  principle  that  all  men  are  equal  in  the  sight 
of  God  :  that  the  divine  right  of  kings  are  only  con- 
ventional rights,  which  most  certainly  should  be  re- 
garded ;  but  according  to  the  principles  of  the  com- 
pact. It  is  hard  for  the  proud  man  swelling  in  the 
consequence  of  his  power  to  allow  that  virtue  and 
intelligence  are  the  standard  of  true  greatness,  and 
the  real  one  by  which  his  God  will  measure  him. — 
The  sagacious  tyrant  has  sometimes  tolerated  ma- 
sonry because  he  found  the  followers  of  it  peaceful 
subjects,  who  had  good  sense  enough  to  bear  known 
evils,  rather  than  to  plunge  into  anarchy  and  blood 
without  a  hope  of  redress.  They  obeyed  the  rules 
of  their  order  to  conquer  by  reason,  in  patience  and 
hope  ;  and  the  still  small  voice  of  reason  has  often 
succeeded,  when  the  whirlwind  and  the  fire  storm 
had  failed.  Wisdom  in  every  age  has  been  justified  of 
all  her  children.  Masonry  by  following  these  rules 
has  existed  under  every  form  of  government,  and 
has  flourished  under  most  ;  and  perhaps  has  done 
the  most  good  when  the  greatest  evils  existed. 

The  superstitious  are  apposed  to  masonry,  for  free 
enquiry  and  ratiocination  is  death  to  the  long  train 
of  spectres  in  their  service  ;  they  revel  with  the  de- 
mons of  their  own  creating,  and  enjoy  their  own 


75 

fearful  spells.  The  superstitious  hate  that  light  of 
the  soul  that  reasoning  brings  to  oian  ;  it  is  painful 
to  their  half-closed  eyes  that  love  the  darkness. 
The  rising  sun  of  knowledge  dethrones  the  reigning 
spirits  amongst  these  children  of  the  mists,  and  they 
turn  from  the  beams  of  the  luminary  with  deep  and 
terrible  imprecations.  The  superstitious  mind  is 
full  of  dread  ;  the  reasoning  one  is  filled  with  rev- 
erence ;  the  first  worship  God  in  frenzy  ;  the  second 
brings  him  the  offerings  of  severe  contemplations, 
and  the  outpourings  of  contrite  hearts.  To  break 
in  upon  superstition,  to  restrain  frenzy — to  pull 
down  the  altars  of  Baal,  and  erect  those  of  the  true 
God — have  been  the  labors  of  the  children  of  reason. 
On  their  altars,  the  prophets  have  called  down  the 
holy  fire  from  heaven,  while  the  sons  of  superstition 
have  cried  to  their  idols  in  vain,  for  their  Gods  could 
not  hear  them.  The  bad  are  opposed  to  masonry, 
because  masonry  adds  new  restraints  upon  those  in- 
elined  to  wander  from  the  paths  of  rectitude,  and  the 
wicked  heart  endeavours  to  free  itself  from  all  obliga- 
tions, human  or  divine  ;  and  they  are  against  Chris- 
tianity as  well  as  masonry,  and  therefore  their  en- 
mity is  an  honor  rather  than  a  stain. 

The  bigot,  the  tyrant,  the  superstitious,  and   even 
the  bad,  are  not  half  so  much  t©  be  feared  by  mason- 
ry as  another  class  we  have  not  yet  mentiond — the 
misinformed  and  deluded,  who  often  honestly  oppose 
G 


74 

MS  from  the  apprehension  of  danger,  not  from  any 
improper  motive.  This  class,  from  their  honesty 
and  weight  of  character,  often  bring  the  doubtful 
and  wavering  into  their  ranks  ;  and  the  bigoted,  the 
superstitious,  and  the  bad  watch  such  opportunities 
to  set  their  machinations  to  work  in  conjunction  to 
injure  us.  Those  who  often  wish  to  reason  are 
hurried  on  to  erroneous  conclusions  by  the  passion 
and  falsehood  of  others,  who  may  have  an  object  in 
their  proceedings.  The  Abbe  Barruel  was  one  of 
these  deluded  men  who  reasoned  from  his  fears  and 
endeavoured  to  infuse  them  into  his  writings  to 
alarm  the  world.  He  is  to  be  pitied  and  forgiven. 
He  confounded  the  most  diabolical  clubs  in  France 
which  were  made  up  of  desperadoes  and  murderers 
with  the  Lodges  of  masons,  merely  because  these 
assassins  stole  some  signs,  names,  or  usages  of  the 
craft.  These  vile  clubs  assumed  the  character  of 
illuminati — a  name  which  had  been  given  to  the 
philosophers  of  that  and  a  preceeding  age,  who  were 
labouring  for  reform,  but  who  did  not  dream  of  an- 
archy, nor  such  associates.  The  illuminati  in  their 
prime  estate  were  not  as  such  connected  with  ma- 
sonry, and  still  less  were  these  pseudo-illuminees. 
Masonry  dated  its  origin  far,  very  far  beyond  that  of 
the  illuminati.  The  Abbe  wrote  in  the  appalling 
confusion  of  falling  thrones,  of  profanations  of  al- 
tars, and  within  sight  of  the  blood  shed  in  torrents 


75 

by  the  guillotine.  His  own  order  had  fallen  in 
myriads,  and  his  heart  was  siek,  and  broken  and 
desolate,  by  the  miseries  he  saw  around  him.  la 
such  a  moment  he  wrote  ;  who  could  not  pity  and  for- 
give him  for  not  seeing  that  he  wrote  of  false  ma- 
sons :  still  he  ought  to  have  known  that  falsehood 
was,  and  had  been,  current  in  the  world  before  ; 
and  that  Satan  in  deceiving  this  world  had  often  as- 
sumed the  character  of  an  angel  of  light,  and  under 
the  pretence  of  banishing  vice,  had  assailed  virtue. 
The  Abbe's  dread  of  the  destruction  of  altars  and 
their  priests  reached  across  the  Atlantic,  and  a  Doc- 
tor of  Divinity,  of  great  industry  and  of  considera- 
ble learning,  took  the  alarm,  and  without  much  in- 
quiry, followed  up  the  attack  upon  Masonry  in  this 
country.  The  friends  of  the  Doctor  who  were,  and 
those  who  were  not  masons,  soon  convinced  him 
that  he  was  fighting  a  windmill,  and  scaring  himself 
for  nothing  ,  when  convinced  of  his  error,  with  the 
magnanimity  of  a  gentleman,  he  plead  a  retraxit, 
and  the  contest  which  once  foreboded  many  evils 
ended  all  quietly,  much  to  the  Doctor's  honor,  for 
he  early  began  to  suspect  that  these  masons  that  he 
was  writing  about,  were  only  impostors.  From  this 
time  to  within  two  years  past,  all  our  affairs  have 
been  quiet,  pleasant,  and  prosperous.  Since  that 
period  a  strong  excitement  against  masonry  has 
teeen  got  up,  and  to  those  who  were  at  first  opposers 


76 

of  masonry,  many  were  soon  added,  who  were  ready 
to  catch  at  any  thing  that  might  be  turned  to  their 
advantage,  or  serve  to  bring  themselves  into  public 
notice.  Falsehood  after  falsehood  was  invented 
and  promulgated,  against  the  fraternity,  and  error 
with  her  hundred  tongues  went  babbling  through 
the  land.  The  credulous,  whose  ears  are  always 
open,  caught  the  sound,  and  every  repetition  gave 
the  stories  invented  new  features  ;  but  whoever  will 
set  down  and  calmly  examine  the  charges  made 
against  us,  and  will  take  pains  to  strip  the  allega- 
tions spread  upon  the  record  in  so  many  forms  for 
the  same  thing,  of  all  the  statements  and  inuendoes 
that  arc  not  supported  by  facts,  and  of  all  the  rav- 
ings and  inflammatory  denunciations  accompanying 
the  charges,  will  find  nothing  to  make  against  the 
principles  or  practices  of  masonry,  or  nothing  in 
them  militating  with  moral  duties,  or  civil  rights  ; 
nor  can  any  thing  improper  be  charged  to  any  ma- 
sonic body  in  the  country  ;  nor  can  a  single  shadow 
of  proof  be  adduced  to  support  any  rumors  of  im- 
proper conduct  on  the  part  of  any  lodge,  chapter, 
or  encampment,  in  this  country.  It  is  wonderful 
when  we  think  how  many  of  these  bodies  there  are 
in  existence,  that  even  provoked  jealousy  can  find 
nothing  against  us  but  a  few  faint  and  ridiculous 
surmises,  of  what  has  been,  or  may  be  found  in  ma- 
sonry. Some  who  say  that  we  are  not  weak  ov 


wicked,  yet  still  say  that  we  are  deceived,  grossly 
deceived. 

[  would  ask  you  my  auditors,  for  I  address  those 
capable  of  judging,  whether  it  is  not  in  your  opin- 
ion mere  probable  that  these  enemies  of  masonry, 
who  are  now  so  furious,  in  this  moment  of  excite- 
ment, are  wrong,  absolutely  wrong,  in  their  conjec- 
tures, suspicions  and  denunciations,  than  that  so 
many  great  men,  so  many  good  men,  patriots,  chris- 
tians,  philosophers,  statesmen  and  scholars,  should 
have  attempted  to  deceive  the  world  through  so  ma- 
ny ages  and  nations,  and  that  too,  without  any  pos- 
sible object  ?  Could  saints,  and  cardinals,  kings, 
bishops,  philosophers,  republicans,  philanthropists, 
and  men  of  good,  strong  common  sense  in  every 
walk  of  life,  from  the  humblest  to  the  most  elevated, 
be  wrong,  be  wicked,  traitorous,  and  murderous, 
and  the  sagacious  never  yet  have  found  it  out,  until 
within  two  years  past  ?  And  then  the  discovery  be 
made  by  those  who  were  never  known  for  having 
discovered  any  thing  else.  The  enemies  of  mason- 
ry when  driven  to  a  corner  upon  this  point  defend 
themselves  by  this  flimsy  argument — "  these  great 
men  were  deceived  too."  It  would  gratify  us  to 
know  who  were  wise  enough  to  mislead  these  intel- 
ligent and  virtuous  men,  that  have  in  every  age  be- 
longed to  the  masonic  family.  I  have  not  heard 
that  it  is  pretended  that  masonry  has  degenerated 
G2 


78 

since  it  has  been  in  this  country.  It  is  said  that 
every  thing  else  has  improved  ;  man  as  an  animal  ; 
man  as  an  intelligent  being  ;  and  certainly  as  a  so- 
cial and  political  one,  he  has  thought  to  have  im- 
proved much,  and  most  unquestionably  as  shrewd 
discoverers,  the  enemies  of  masonry  would  put  in 
their  own  claims  for  distinction.  How  then  do  our 
enemies  get  on  against  us  ?  We  will  leave  it  for 
them  to  answer. 

AH  our  enemies,  wherever  they  may  be  found, 
we  are  ready  to  meet  most  fearlessly  and  directly  j 
"  we  0,ve.  not  inferior  to  them  ;  the  things  they  know  we 
know  also  ;"  and  with  proper  repentance  they  may 
come  to  know  what  is  now  hidden  from  them  :  From 
these  remarks,  which  may  seem  to  partake  a  little 
of  the  spirit  of  defiance,  we  will  except  one  class  of 
the  community — I  mean  that  portion  of  honest  and 
scrupulous  women  of  our  country  who  have  taken  a 
prejudice  against  our  ordsr.  I  know  the  number  is 
small  and  every  day  diminishing  ;  but  with  these  I 
could  wish  for  a  moment  to  reason  in  a  different 
manner,  because  I  know  that  they  are  sincere  ;  their 
Apposition  is  accidental  and  momentary  ;  it  must,  it 
must  be  removed,  for  it  is  too  painful  for  us  to  see 
them  misled  ;  we  feel  in  this  case  as  lovers  do 
where  there  has  been  some  trifling  interference 
with  their  affections.  Hear  me  ye  fair  ;  the  meth- 
ods the  enemies  of  masonry  have  taken  to  obtain 


79 

and  secure  your  hostility  to  the  craft  have  been  full 
of  baseness  and  design.  They  tell  you,  to  wound 
your  feelings,  that  masons  in  their  piide  and  haugh- 
tiness have  debarred  you  from  participating  in  the 
secrets  of  their  order,  from  want  of  respect  to  your 
virtues  and  talents.  On  some  minds  this,  perhaps, 
may  have  had  an  effect.  They  go  on  to  alarm  you 
for  the  safety  of  your  husbands,  sons,  brothers,  and 
friends  ;  aye,  and  all  your  kindred  are  brought  in, 
as  in  jeopardy.  It  is  perhaps  natural  for  all  persons 
to  suspect  what  they  are  not  permitted  to  under- 
stand. But  I  intreat  you,  if  there  are  any  who  have 
imbibed  these  wrong  impressions,  to  listen  to  me  for 
a  moment,  while  I  make  a  few  disinterested  remarks 
upon  this  subject.  If  one  would  attend  a  moment 
to  the  history  of  masonry  from  the  time  it  took  its 
present  name  to  this  day,  she  would  clearly  see  why 
women  were  not  admitted  to  share  in  the  labors  of 
masonry  with  men.  In  the  first  place,  in  the  coun- 
try from  which  we  came,  masonry  was  an  ancient  or- 
der, uniting  science  with  art,  and  known  to  be  a 
body  of  architects  ;  these  were  as  distinct  an  order 
as  that  of  the  Priesthood,  or  the  military  orders  ; 
their  vow  was  to  build  all  public  edifices  for  the  fur- 
therance of  devotion  and  charity.  In  these  edifices, 
convents,  churches,  monasteries  and  colleges  and 
other  orders  were  established  for  piety,  learning  and 
charity.  Females  formed  various  orders  within  the 


walls  of  theae  convents,  such  as  they  chose,  and  no 
man  interfered,  farther  than  he  was  required  to  act 
by  those  who  wished  for  his  aid.  It  was  thought 
then  that  the  great  purposes  of  life  and  the  worship 
of  God  would  be  best  carried  on  by  a  division  of  or- 
ders. In  belonging  to  the  order  devoted  to  the  sci- 
ence of  architecture  and  the  art  of  building,  what 
possible  pleasure  could  women  have  found  ?  They 
were  not  desirous  of  this  distinction  at  that  time, 
nor  have  they  been  since.  They  knew  that  these 
divisions  were  the  best  means  of  producing  the  de- 
sired results.  Females  did  not  wish  to  build  houses, 
bridges,  or  halls  of  legislation,  any  more  than  they 
wished  to  become  members  of  the  wittena-gemot  or 
parliament  of  the  land.  The  progress  of  civiliza- 
tian  has  always  been  favourable  to  the  rank  and 
Condition  of  women.  A  shrewd  observer  could  make 
more  accurate  calculations  of  the  state  of  refinement 
of  a  nation  by  examining  the  nursery,  and  watching 
what  was  taught  there,  than  he  could  by  going  into 
the  great  councils  of  the  people  and  listening  ever 
so  long  to  their  grave  discussions  ;  and  I  would  go 
further,  and  say,  that  he  could  form  a  better  conjec- 
ture upon  the  true  state  of  the  piety  of  the  people 
by  examining  the  worship  at  the  shrine  of  the  house- 
hold gods,  than  he  could  in  the  solemn  temple* 
where  perhaps  much  he  might  hear  in  one  place 
would  be  in  opposition  to  that  which  he  might  hear 
in  another. 


81 

I  contend  that  there  has  never  been  a  class  of 
men  since  man  became  a  civilized  being,  that  have 
been  more  the  friends  of  women  than  the  masons. 
It  is  agreed  on  all  hands,  as  we  have  stated  in  a  for- 
mer Legture,  for  a  different  purpose,  that  out  of 
their  order  grew  up  the  Christian  knights,  warriors, 
and  all  men  of  chivalry  whose  glories  for  a  while 
blazed  from  the  east  to  the  west,  and  attracted  the 
gaze  of  remote  nations.  With  the  science  and  val- 
or of  the  age  they  united  the  two  strongest  passions 
that  ever  held  possession  of  the  human  heart — Love 
and  Devotion.  Masonry  at  this  very  moment  held 
the  legislative  power  of  these  orders,  for  the  knights 
never  assumed  the  prerogative  of  giving  laws  to 
masons,  and  in  their  lofty  code  of  honor  were  incor- 
porated some  of  the  purest  and  most  valuable  prin- 
ciples for  the  protection  and  elevation  of  the  female 
character.  Their  person,  their  property,  and  their 
reputations  were  secured  by  every  enlargement  of 
the  statute  book  of  chivalry.  To  this  code,  in  those 
days  of  sentiment  and  splendor,  all  the  nations  of 
Europe  subscribed.  The  fierce  Dane — the  faithful 
German — the  stout-hearted  Englishman — the  warm 
hearted  Irishman — the  lofty  Spaniard — the  gal- 
lant Frenchman — the  sprightly  and  polished  Italian 
— all  readily  subscribed.  No  man  was  armed  for 
battle  nntil  he  had  made  his  devotions  to  some  saint, 
and  received  the  token  of  some  "  /«</;/ /air.'" 


82 

"  It  was  Dunois  the  youug  and  brave,  was  bound  for  Pales- 
tine, 

But  first  he  made  his  orisons  before  saint  Mary's  shrine  ; 

"  And  grant  immortal  queen  of  heaven,"  was  still  the  soldier's 
prayer, 

"  That  I  may  prove  the  bravest  Knight  and  love  the  fairest 
fair." 

His  oath  of  honor  on  the  shrine,  he  grav'd  it  with  his  swopd, 

And  followed  to  the  holy  land  the  banner  of  his  lord  ; 

When  faithful  to  his  noble  vow,  his  war-cry  fill'd  the  air, 

Be  honor'd  aye  the  bravest  Knight,  belov'd  the  fairest  fair. 
They  owe  the  conquest  to  his  arm,  and  then  his  liege  lord 
said, 

"  The  heart  that  has  for  honor  beat,  by  bliss  must  be  re- 
paid ; 

My  daughter  Isabel  and  thou  shall  be  a  wedded  pair, 

For  thou  art  bravest  of  the  brave,  she  fairest  of  the  fair." 
And  then  they  bound  the  holy  knot  before  saint  Mary's 
shrine, 

Which  makes  a  paradise  on  earth,  when  hearts  and  hands 
combine  ; 

And  every  lord  and  lady  bright  that  was  in  chapel  there 

Cried,  "  honor'd  be  the  bravest  Knight,  belov'd  the  fairest 
fair." 

This  enthusiasm  was  wisely  seized  by  those  not 
quite  so  romantic  and  made  to  bear  upon  the  rights 
of  women,  which  came  nearer  to  the  common  busi- 
ness of  life  ;  and  the  despotism  of  man  was  broken 
in  the  spell  of  his  enthusiasm.  Love  unlocked  th« 
iron  grasp  of  rude  power,  and  wisdom  prevented 
the  hand  from  shutting  again  with  so  close  a  clench 
as  before.  Woman  was  soon  the  arbiter  elegantia- 
mm,'a.nd  presided  at  all  the  feats  of  prowess  and 
displays  of  splendor.  From  such  enchantments  it 
would  have  been  dull  and  tasteless  for  her  to  bare 


83 

gone  into  a  masonic  hall  where  all  was  solemn,  eth- 
ical, and  business-like,  nor  did  she  ask  for  admit- 
tance. The  rights  of  woman  were  then  permanent- 
ly secured.  Some  uncouth  and  savage  doctrines 
are  still  left  to  disfigure  the  books  of  our  common 
law  ;  but  the  rude  spirit  of  them  is  broken  by  the 
remnant  of  that  age  of  gallantry  which  has  never 
deserted  the  heart  of  man,  but  governed  by  philoso- 
phy, is  now  transfused  into  every  code  of  morals  and 
of  rights  that  is  known  amongst  us. 

It  may  be  asked  by  the  kind  soul  who  trembles  at 
every  blast  and  by  those  of  the  firmest  and  purest 
natures,(6)  cannot  you  give  up  Masonry  ?  how  good  it 
is  to  prevent  so  much  evil  as  is  threatened  at  this 
present  moment.  We  answer  that  it  is  feebleness 
that  yields  to  error  from  an  apprehension  of  conse- 
quences. No  ;  this  is  the  time  for  the  masonic  fam- 
ily to  redouble  their  diligence  to  make  themselves 
acquainted  with  the  learning  and  principles  of  their 
order,  to  live  down  the  slanders  that  are  abroad,  to 
shew  their  firmness,  their  stability,  with  their  true 
character.  The  rains  may  come,  and  the  winds 
may  blow  and  beat  upon  the  house  wisdom  has 
built  upon  her  seven  pillars,  but  it  will  stand  firm  as 
the  everlasting  hills,  and  proud  in  defiance  like  truth 
will  grow  brighter  by  passing  ages. 

It  cannot  be  denied  but  that  masonry,  like  relig- 
ion, learning  and  liberty,  has  been  abused,  but  cer- 


54 

tainly  not  ha»f  so  often  as  either  of  these  other  bless- 
ings. The  causes  of  this  abuse  are  manifold.  The 
first  is  in  admitting  ignorant  men  within  the  pale  of 
our  order  ;  men  who  are  not  sufficiently  enlightened 
to  discriminate  between  the  shadow  and  the  sub- 
stance ;  between  the  type  and  the  thing  typified. — 
They  are  admitted  and  see  nothing  in  masonry,  but 
its  forms.  They  leave  the  society,  perhaps,  after  a 
short  time,  and  then  say  they  are  masons,  and  pre- 
tend to  speak  of  its  secrets  as  nothing  ;  and  indeed 
they  are  nothing  to  them.  A  native  of  an  island  in 
the  Pacific  ocean,  in  his  primitive  ignorance,  might 
as  well  pretend  to  judge  of  our  laws  and  usages  in 
civil  life,  from  looking  into  a  court  of  justice  while 
in  session,  or  in  walking  through  the  streets  of  a 
city,  as  these  men,  to  judge  of  masonry  in  its  nature 
and  character.  It  has  happened,  but  that  evil  ex- 
ists no  longer,  that  members  of  lodges  have  thought 
more  of  their  refreshments  than  of  their  labors — and 
more  of  parade  than  of  their  charities.  These  abu- 
ses, however,  are  exaggerated  by  a  carping  world, 
and  sometimes  are  thought  to  exist  where  they  do 
not.  Those  too,  who  have  nothing  else  by  which 
they  may  be  distinguished,  have  often  boasted  of 
their  masonic  lore,  and  looked  wisely,  while  they 
threw  out  hints  of  their  deep  knowledge  and  skill 
in  the  mysteries  of  the  craft.  Their  compeers  in 
other  things,  were  perhaps  humble  and  limited  in 


85 

their  talents  or  acquirements,  could  not  have  much 
respect  for  the  wisdom  of  that  order  in  which  such 
empty-headed,  vain  hoasters,  were  members  and  in 
full  communion,  and  talked  of  numerous  degrees  of 
a  great  science  as  in  their  possession.  It  should  be 
known  that  if  such  are  sometimes  tolerated,  they  are 
not  respected  and  are  only  suffered  for  peace  sake 
to  remain  in  the  outer  courts  of  the  temple,  treated 
with  that  kindness  which  they  hardly  deserve.  An- 
other abuse  arises  from  a  disposition  to  have  a  full 
lodge,  that  more  funds  may  be  obtained  to  be  ex- 
pended in  the  cause  of  benevolence.  Even  charity 
has  sometimes  a  pride  to  do  too  much.  This  is  a 
great  weakness,  however  amiable  it  may  be.  The 
members  should  be  selected  with  care  and  caution. 
No  one  should  be  admitted  until  his  reputation  for  a 
virtuous  life  and  as  a  good  member  of  society,  in 
active  duties,  had  been  established.  A  lodge  had 
better  wait  for  years  in  gaining  strength  than  to 
make  members  without  proper  examination,  in  a 
true  spirit  of  solicitude  for  the  good  of  the  order. 
Those  very  agitations  which  seemed  for  a  while  to 
have  shaken  masonry  from  its  deepest  foundations, 
will,  I  trust  to  heaven,  be  made  an  instrument  to  pu- 
rify and  elevate  it.  Masonry  in  many  parts  of  our 
country  has  been  pretty  thoroughly  expurgated  and 
exhibits  a  most  scrupulous  regard  to  every  decency 
of  appearance  and  demeanor,  as  well  as  to  the  more 
H 


important  virtues  they  profess.  The  largest  exhibi- 
tion of  masons  ever  made  in  this  country,  was  on 
the  17th  of  June,  1826,  at  Boston  and  Charlestown, 
at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  the  Bunker  hill 
monument  ;  their  procession  was  most  splendid,  and 
by  holding  the  masters  and  wardens  of  every  lodge 
responsible  for  the  conduct  of  every  one  under  his 
banner,  those  straggling,  broken  down  brothers, 
whom  the  fraternity  are  willing  to  support,  but 
ashamed  to  acknowledge,  were  entirely  excluded. 
Let  such  examples  be  strictly  followed  and  we  should 
not  have  so  often  to  blush  for  public  processions. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  there  is  often  seen  in 
young  lodges  a  disposition  to  make  a  display  on  ev- 
ery occasion.  This  should  be  avoided  as  much  as 
possible,  and  on  such  occasions  as  make  it  indispen- 
sably necessary  to  assemble  and  form  processions, 
then  every  thing  should  be  done  with  great  gravity 
and  exactness,  in  order  to  preserve  discipline  and 
to  make  a  proper  impression  upon  the  minds  of 
young  masons  and  upon  the  spectators.  To  honor 
the  dead  and  to  teach  the  living  the  uncertainty  of 
human  life,  every  nation  in  every  age,  has  practiced 
funeral  ceremonies.  They  all  mean  the  same  thing1, 
from  the  piercing  howl  of  the  savage  at  the  grave  of 
his  child,  to  the  solemn  pomp  of  royalty  stretched 
on  a  death-bed  of  state.  Civil  life,  war,  religion, 
all  have  taxed  their  ingenuity  to  make  these  burial 


87 

services  impressive  ;  but  there  is  no  one  of  them 
made  so  impressive  as  the  masonic  burial  service  ; 
it  has  the  parade  of  the  martial  procession,  the  so- 
lemnity of  the  religious,  and  the  affection  of  the 
civil,  and  with  the  emblems  of  dissolution  and  the 
terrors  of  the  tomb,  it  unites  those  of  hope,  faith  and 
eternal  happiness.  If  these  ceremonies  are  careless- 
ly and  frequently  got  up  they  lose  all  their  effect  and 
become  as  familiar  as  coffins  which  in  some  of  our 
cities  are  exhibited  by  way  of  sample  at  shop  win- 
dows. Do  not  misunderstand  me,  my  brethren. — * 
Your  attention  and  kindness  in  making  the  inquiry 
of  the  relatives  of  a  deceased  brother,  concerning 
their  ability  to  give  his  remains  a  decent  burial,  is 
among  your  brightest  charities.  I  would  not  say  a 
word  against  it  on  any  consideration.  To  bury 
those  who  have  died  in  poverty,  with  decency  and 
propriety,  is  a  duty  of  the  most  sacred  character, 
and  one  that  is  repaid  by  the  gratitude  of  the  be- 
reaved and  the  prayers  of  the  distressed.  It  is 
prompted  by  the  voice  of  nature  and  commanded  by 
God,  and  the  command  is  accompanied  by  his  prom- 
ise, that  can  never  fail  : — "  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
wheresoever  thou  fuidest  the  dead,  lake  them  and  bury 
tiiem,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  first  place  in  my  resur- 
rection." It  ik  the  frequent  parade  of  burying  those 
who  are  rich,  that  have  brought  censure  upon  us  ; 
fear  not  of  doing  too  much  for  the  poor  ;  the  ashes 


88 

of  all  meu  are  equal  ;  death  is  a  leveller  indeed. 
It  is  truly  astonishing,  when  we  consider  how  ea- 
sily the  doors,  that  opened  upon  our  tabernacles, 
have  moved  on  their  hinges,  in  times  past,  that  there 
have  been  so  few  abuses,  and  instances  of  degrada- 
tion among  masons.  We  have  seen  those  in  our 
country  who  were  worthless,  as  to  all  the  uses  of 
life  ;  but  it  is  rare,  indeed,  to  find  one  dragged  into 
our  courts  of  criminal  jurisdiction  or  tarnished  with 
crimes.  (7)  You  may  find  those  lost  to  society  from 
many  causes,  but  who  are  restrained  from  commit- 
ting offences  to  make  them  ignominious.  There 
are  still  left  the  strong  cords  of  habit  that  bind 
them  to  the  moral  code,  or  its  most  prominent  fea- 
tures, when  the  great  springs  of  action  have  lost 
their  elasticity.  Most  of  those  who  have  disgraced 
our  order  were  men  who,  after  passing  through  the 
forms  of  initiation,  had  entirely  neglected  to  attend 
the  lodge  to  be  catechised  or  indoctrinated  ;  and 
when  it  will  answer  their  purposes  they  sneer  at 
what  they  do  not  understand,  and  denounce  what 
they  never  practiced  ;  and  these  are  the  men  who 
succeed  in  alarming  the  conscientious  and  fearful — 
and  who  see  a  wizard's  spell  ia  every  harmless 
ceremony,  and  imagine  that  as  soon  as  a  door  is 
shut  that  all  abominations  are  practiced  in  secret. 
Knaves  could  do  but  little  harm  if  there  were  no 
fools  to  join  them. 


89 

There  are  many  degrees  which  fancy  and  taste 
have  from  age  to  age  added  to  ancient  masonry 
which  serve  as  ornaments  to  the  original  edifice  and 
pleasant  enough  to  understand,  but  which  have  no 
direct  connexion  with  it.  Amongst  others,  that  of 
the  brothers  of  the  Rosy  Cross,  or  Rosy-crusiens. 
This  order  once  made  a  great  noise  in  the  world  : 
It  was  first  known  in  Germany  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury, but  according  to  most  historians  it  was  lost  in 
the  mists  that  overhang  that  age  of  literature  in  Ger- 
many, until  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  it  was  revived  with  great  enthusiasm,  and  with 
a  thousand  pretensions  to  wonderful  secrets.  They 
professed  to  have  within  their  knowledge  the  ele- 
ments of  all  arts  and  sciences  that  were  then  in  the 
world,  and  many  that  were  in  opposition  to  the  laws 
of  nature.  They  assumed  the  name  of  the  invisible 
brothers,  and  appended  to  the  name  of  each,  these 
letters  F.  R.  C  fratres  roris  cocti — the  brothers  oj 
exalted  or  concocted  dew.  They  pretended  that  they 
were  in  possession  of  the  philosopher's  stone  ;  and 
this  power  of  changing  metals  into  gold,  was  only 
by  the  operation  of  dew  on  other  less  valuable  met- 
als. This  order  were  unquestionably  the  parents 
of  modern  chemistry,  and  did  much  for  astronomy 
through  their  pretensions  to  astrology.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  17th  century  some  books  pertaining 
fco  this  order  were  discovered,  and  some  persons 
112 


90 

played  a  high  farce  with  them.  These  books  wer« 
probably  Arabic  manuscripts.  These  were  not  the 
true  Brothers.  They  assumed  the  F.  R.  C.  but 
like  those  who  think  they  have  reached  the  arcana 
of  masonry  by  an  accidental  book  on  the  subject, 
they  soon  exposed  their  ignorance,  and  were  put 
down  by  those  who  were  truly  learned.  This  order 
in  its  primitive  state  in  Germany  was  descended 
from  the  Lodge  of  Cairo,  and  was  one  of  the  true 
stock  of  the  House  of  Wisdom.  Rosencrux  was 
said  to  have  been  the  founder  ;  but  in  all  probabili- 
ty he  only  gave  the  order  a  name.  The  House  of 
Wisdom  was  in  a  dilapidated  state  when  the  order 
made  its  appearance  in  Germany,  and  the  fragments 
of  the  ancient  temple  were  put  together  with  more 
imagination  than  taste  by  the  architects  of  the  mid- 
dle ages. 

The  illuminati  also,  were  first  known  in  German- 
ny — this  is  a  beautiful  name  given  to  scholars  and 
philanthropists.  They  formed  a  republic  of  letters, 
and  had  no  other  ambition  than  that  of  illuminina- 
ting  the  world  by  the  rays  of  reason,  and  the  light 
of  knowledge.  Free  enquiry  was  the  means  they 
took  to  come  at  their  ends,  and  they  were  the  fathers 
of  that  general  diffusion  of  information  now  so  con- 
spicuous in  Germany.  They  broke  the  fetters  of  the 
Aristotelian  philosophy  then  taught  every  where  in 
the  scientific  world,  and  promulgated  the  doctrine 


91 

of  thinking  for  ourselves.  They  re-dug  the  mines 
of  knowledge,  re-melted  all  the  ores,  and  re-cast 
them  into  new  forms,  aud  if  not  into  such  beautiful 
ones  as  they  had  formerly  assumed,  certainly  into 
more  natural  and  durable  shapes.  To  these  men 
we  are  indebted  for  the  spirit  of  philosophical  in- 
vestigation of  the  present  age.  A  branch  of  the  il- 
luminati  is  now  found  in  this  country  under  the  name 
of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa.  This  society  exists  only 
as  connected  with  seminaries  of  learning  in 
the  United  States.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  probably  given  to  him  by  Mr.  Mazzei,  a 
name  well  known  in  this  country,  but  more  from  his 
politics  than  his  science,  which  was  conceded,  by 
those  who  knew  him,  to  be  very  extensive.  These 
scholars  procured  a  charter,  or  made  one,  for 
William  and  Mary  College  ;  from  this  institution 
one  was  obtained  for  Cambridge  University  about 
1783,  and  by  these  two  Colleges  it  was  extended  to 
Yale — by  these  three  to  Dartmouth.  William  and 
Mary  had  lost  their  charter,  and  from  the  Alphas, 
as  these  Lodges  are  called,  then  existing,  Union 
College  obtained  a  charter,  and  all  united  in  ex- 
tending the  benefit  to  Bodoin  college  in  the  State 
of  Maine.  In  whatever  form  it  existed  in  Germany, 
in  this  country  it  is  only  the  simple  bond  for  a  lite- 
rary society  that  might  keep  alive  old  friendships 
Had  make  new  ones.  It  has  but  one  degree  with 


92 

us,  but  1  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  order 
was  formerly  in  Germany  divided  into  three  or  more 
degrees.  In  that  country  it  was  unquestionably  in- 
stituted for  freedom  of  philosophical  enquiry,  and 
liberal  criticism  upon  all  works,  which  spirit  then 
was  not  much  encouraged  by  Church  or  Slate.  We 
do  not  want  such  a  society  for  this  purpose  in  this 
country,  as  we  had  ever  exercised  that  privilege  ; 
but  we  received  it  as  a  stimulous  to  youths  in  Col- 
lege,, and  by  confining  it  to  a  minority  of  every  elass 
an  election  to  this  order  was  a  matter  of  distinction 
in  college,  and  of  course  no  small  exertions  were 
made  to  deserve  this  honor.  This  society  has  with- 
in a  few  years  past  grown  rapidly  into  notice.  The 
anniversaries  of  it  have  been  celebrated  by  the  sev- 
eral Alphas  with  no  small  parade.  They  have 
signs  and  words  by  which  they  are  known  to  one 
another  ;  but  the  society  have  no  secrets  at  the 
present  time  except  enough  to  save  them  from  im- 
position. They  are  extremely  careful  in  their  se- 
lections, and  are  doing  much  for  the  cultivation  of 
letters,  and  more  in  giving  the  people  a  taste  for  the 
refinements  of  knowledge.  Jfo  religious  creeds, 
are  taught  by  this  society.  Each  has  a  right  to 
think  for  himself.  There  are  not  more  than  two 
thousand  members  of  this  society  in  the  United 
States,  and  the  number  will  only  increase  in  nearly 
a  graduated  ratio  of  one  third  with  those  who  re*- 


93 

eeive  the  honors*  of  the  colleges  to  which  those  in- 
stitutions are  attached,  with  a  few  other  additions  of 
men  eminent  for  learning,  who  were  not  educated  at 
college  or  who  had  not  an  opportunity  of  becoming 
members  in  the  course  of  their  college  life.  The 
anniversary  publications  of  these  Alphas  have,  many 
of  them,  been  of  a  high  order  of  classical  taste  and 
acquirement.  As  yet  this  society  have  not  publish- 
ed any  work  of  magnitude  ;  something,  however, 
will  hereafter  we  hope  be  done  by  them  in  the  way 
of  raising  our  literary  reputation. 

There  are  several  other  secret  societies  amongst 
us  ;  whose  objects  as  far  as  I  have  been  instructed 
are  philanthropic  and  harmless,  and  like  all  those* 
whose  basis  is  charity  and  brotherly  love,  may  do  a. 
great  deal  of  good,  and  which  I  have  described  ; 
but  on  mature  consideration  have  thought  it  best 
not  to  insert  the  account  of  them  in  this  work.  At 
some  other  time  this  account  shall  be  given  to  the 
public. 

These  associations  are  so  many  Inns  on  the  high- 
way of  life  where  the  initiated  stop  and  repose  in 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  dav,  and  where  they  of- 
ten find  a  shelter  from  the  sudden  storm  and  the  ad- 
verse wind  ;  places  where  the  traveller  may  find 
friends  to  assist  him  to  beguile  an  hour  amidst  kind- 
ness and  converse,  and  from  whence  he  starts  afresh 
on  his  journey  with  less  of  that  solitariness  which 


94 

too  often  strikes  to  the  heart  of  the  weary  and  de- 
sponding and  sinks  him  to  the  grave  without  any 
one  to  close  his  eyes,  or  to  receive  his  farewell  for 
those  he  loved.  Even  the  happiness  of  such  a  place 
is  diffused,  and  enters  into  the  common  atmosphere 
around,  and  where  even  the  wretched  learn  to  hope. 
I  envy  not  that  man  who  says,  that  he  has  no  need 
of  friendly  intercourse  on  his  journey,  nor  wishes 
for  friends  or  country  at  any  time  ;  such  an  one  was 
not  made  for  society,  nor  can  he  be  of  any  benefit 
to  it.  There  are  we  hope  but  few  such.  As  the 
body  of  man  requires  constant  nutriment  to  keep  it 
in  health,  so  does  the  mind  demand  frequent  re- 
freshments and  judicious  stimulants  to  preserve  every 
faculty  and  every  principle  in  vigor.  No  man  ever 
lived  and  thought  much  or  acted  well,  who  did  not 
sometimes  feel  the  tedium  vitae,  which  is  softened, 
diminished,  and  sometimes  cured  by  this  medicine 
of  the  wise — a  perpetual  draught  of  intelligence — and 
a,  frequent  association  with  kindred  souls.  The  gaiety 
and  bustle  of  the  public  streets  where  one  may  read 
a  volume  of  nature  and  of  man  as  he  passes  along  ; 
the  quiet  of  the  closet,  the  secresy  of  the  lodge 
room  ;  the  solemn  publicity  of  the  temple  of  God  j 
all,  all  are  so  many  places  where  the  exhausted 
spirits  of  man  may  be  restored  to  elasticity  and  tone. 
The  secrets  of  the  lodge  we  have  mentioned  ;  we 
do  not  pretend  that  we  ara  fed  with  ambrosia  there., 


95 

•or  does  honey  drop  to  refresh  as  from  every  bougu, 
or  is  manna  gathered  as  for  a  peculiar  and  a  favor- 
ed people.  No  ;  we  make  no  such  pretensions  ; 
but  we  say  that  our  lodges  are  schools  of  discipline 
for  our  passions,  as  well  as  for  the  improvement  of 
our  intellects  ;  also,  places  for  an  altar,  on  which 
we  are  bound  to  sacrifice  our  prejudices  as  far  as  we 
oan,  and  offer  up  our  prayers  that  w«  may  be  assist- 
ed in  our  efforts.  Who  can  blame  us  for  express- 
ing an  unwillingness  to  have  our  inmost  recesses 
profaned,  or  our  altars  thrown  down.  We  will  tile 
our  lodge  to  keep  "  squint-eyed  suspicion"  from  look- 
ing into  our  inmost  chambers,  and  without  alarm  or 
trepidation  we  will  send  out  our  champion — reason, 
who  is  always  in  complete  armour,  to  combat  hon- 
est doubt  and  flexible  credulity,  and  to  wage  war 
with  sturdy  prejudice,  while  we  set  down  with  char- 
ity, and  fortitude,  and  hope,  and  pass  the  hours  in 
devising  matters  for  the  general  good  until  our  sen- 
eschal shall  return  victorious  over  all  his  foes. 

In  fine,  we  say  to  the  world,  and  repeat  it  again 
and  again,  that  masonry  has  for  its  ends  the  happi- 
ness of  man,  and  uses  as  its  means  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge  and  the  practice  of  virtue  ;  it  confesses 
the  equality  of  men  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  it  teaches 
us  to  treat  all  men  as  brothers  ;  to  learn  instruction 
from  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  to  leave 
lessons  for  those  who  shall  come  after  us.  It  qua*- 


rels  with  no  principalities  or  powers,  nor  yields  to 
any  arbitrary  sway  :  it  raises  no  spectres  to  frighten 
the  world,  nor  fears  any  that  others  may  call  up.  It 
teaches  us  to  practice  charity,  to  protect  chastity, 
to  respect  the  ties  of  blood  and  friendship,  and  to 
adopt  the  principles  and  to  reverence  the  sacra- 
ments of  religion.  Its  commands  are,  in  the  still 
small  voice  of  reason,  fearlessly  go,  face  the  proud 
in  defence  of  the  humble  ;  kindly  assist  the  feeble  ; 
guide  the  blind  ;  feed  the  hungry  ;  clothe  the  na- 
ked ;  raise  up  the  trodden  down,  be  a  father  to  the 
orphan ;  guard  the  altar ;  protect  the  govern- 
ment ;  encourage  wisdom  ;  love  man  ;  adore  God; 
implore  his  mercy  and  hope  for  happiness  and  im- 
mortality.— These  are  the  commandments  of  ma- 
sonry. Thus  far  can  we  speak  ;  but  for  those  who 
are  not  yet  satisfied  and  wish  to  know  more  without 
passing  through  the  guarded  gates  of  knowledge, 
our  address  to  them  must  be  the  same  that  was 
made  of  old  to  the  prophet  Esdras — "  Number  me 
Ihe  things  that  are  not  yet  come  ;  gather  me  to- 
gether the  drops  that  are  scattered  abroad  ;  make 
me  the  flowers  green  again  that  are  withered  ;  open 
me  the  places  that  are  closed,  and  bring  me  forth 
the  w'irtds,  that  in  them  are  shut  up  ;  show  me  the  im- 
age of  a  voice,  and  then  I  will  declare  the  thing 
thou  labourest  to  know.  "(8) 


NOTES. 


NOTE  (1)  page  15. — See  Chateaubriand  on  the  nature  of 
mysteries,  in  which  he  prove- s  that  mystery  pervades  every 
thing  from  the  mote  in  the  sun-beam  to  God  himself— and 
that  the  moral  world  is  as  full  of  this  mystery  as  the  natural, 
and  tljut  not  only  faith,  but  that  reason  also  is  clothed  with  it. 


NOTE  (2)  page  15. — The  means  of  tracing  out  the  obscuri- 
ties of  antiquity  and  of  developing  the  principles  that  govern- 
ed the  nations  of  old  have  for  half  a  century  pastjbeen  increas- 
ing- ;  but  they  :nvc-  been  very  extensive  of  late  years. — The 
English  settlements  in  India — and  the  French  campaigns  in 
Egypt  opened  a  way  for  our  travellers  and  missionaries  that 
have  made  the  last  few  years  prolific  in  the  knowledge  of  those 
interesting  countries.  The  labors  of  the  missionaries  have  made 
us  acquainted  with  more  than  sixty  languages  of  rich  and  co- 
pious vocabularies  in  which  much  knowledge  is  preserved ;  the 
passion  for  antiquarian  research  and  our  love  for  the  wonderful, 
and  that  region  is  full  of  wonders,  have  induced  our  consuls  in 
the  east  to  collect  rare  manuscripts,  and  other  curiosities  for 
our  market.  Among  other  things  several  mummies  have  been 
taken  from  the  catacombs  of  ancient  Thebes,  in  their  sarco- 
phagi, and  sent  to  this  country  :  some  of  them  arrived  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation.  At  first  it  was  supposed  by  many 
that  these  were  not  genuine  Egyptian  mummies,  but  got  up  to 
deceive  us  ;  but  when  they  were  critically  examined  by  the 
learned  all  doubts  were  removed  ;  proofs  of  their  genu- 
inem  ss  pressed  themselves  irresistibly  on  all  who  saw  them. 
Over  a  mummy  sent  to  this  country  by  Mr.  Forrester,  one  of 
our  consuls,  to  Mr.  Charles  Brown,  of  Boston,  were  two  sarco- 
phagi which  1  had  the  pleasure  of  examining  at  my  leisure. 
The  inner  ones  when  opened  were  found  to  contain  under 
and  over  the  body,  characters  written,  in  perpendicular  lines 
from  the  head  to  the  foot,  of  which  there  can  be  no  doubt  were 
I 


98 

phonetic,  for  they  were  as  regular  as  the  Hebrew  or  any 
oriental  character,  but  no  one  around  us  could  read  them. 
The  wood  was  sycamore,  and  the  letters  were  as  bright  as  in 
the  day  in  which  they  were  written.  On  the  outei  coffin 
were  numerous  hieroglyphics  in  a  perfect  state  of" preservation 
and  painted  in  great  regularity.  The  first  on  the  inner  was 
probably  the  common  language  of  the  country.  This  com- 
memorated the  deeds  and  virtues  of  the  deceased  :  The  hie- 
roglyphics on  the  outer  serve  probably  as  esoteric  writings 
in  which  their  religious  faith  was  to  be  found.  -In  about  half 
way  from  the  head  to  the  foot  was  seen  a  bed,  curtained  and 
canopied  after  the  manner  of  what  is  called  a  French  field- 
bed  at  the  present  day  ;  weeping  friends  were  around  it.  At 
a  little  distance  from  the  bed  was  seen  a  boat  passing  a 
lake  with  the  shade  of  the  deceased  in  it.  Then  it  was  seen 
again  on  the  opposite  shore  crouching  under  the  uplifted 
scourge  of  some  severe,  but  minor  divinity  of  Egyptian  fancy ; 
it  passed  from  him  to  another  of  more  amiable  aspect  and  was 
now  attended  by  a  guide  dressed  in  white,  probably  one  made 
perfect,  by  trials  and  purification,  from  whom  the  shade  seem- 
ed to  take  comfort  and  admonition  for  the  future  encounter  ; 
it  then  passed  to  another  Divinity  of  more  exalted  character, 
attended  by  more  spiritual  guides  ;  at  every  stage  its  form 
grew  more  erect,  and  increased  in  altitude  and  brilliancy  of 
clothing,  as  it  passed  from  cherubim  to  seraphim,  until  at  last,  it 
reached  their  Supreme  Being,  enshrined  in  glory,  and  was 
then  lost  in  the  bright  clouds  and  saphire  blaze  of  Paradise. 
The  meaning,  if  not  the  precise  and  full  meaning,  was  easily 
read.  It  was  a  creed  antecedent  to  that  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  quite  as  etheriel  and  beautiful  as  those  found  in 
Homer  or  Virgil ;  in  fact,  these  masters  of  learning  and  taste 
had  degraded  their  Gods,  from  the  Egyptian  character,  or  who- 
ever made  them,  probably  the  Egyptians  received  them  from 
the  Abyssinian,  or  more  eastern  countries. 

Accompanying  the  mummies  and  their  sarcophagi  were 
several  large  bricks  in  the  shape  of  our  common  grave  stones, 
from  a  foot,  to  two  feet  and  a  half  high  ;  the  top  line  being 
circular  and  at  first  sight  would  remind  one  of  the  grave  stones 
of  the  old  burying  grounds  of  our  country  ;  but  on  an  exami- 
nation it  is  evident  that  they  are  nearly  of  the  same  materials 
of  the  Babylonish  bricks.  They  are  carved  on  one  side  with 


99 

distinct  descriptions  whose  precise  purport  was  unknown, 
but  the  impression  on  the  mind  was  instantaneous,  that  they 
had  once  conveyed  a  very  distinct  and  significant  meaning. 
These  bricks  had  been  taken  from  the  catacombs  and  had 
in  most  cases  probably  survived  the  mummies  they  had  refer- 
ence to.  In  the  sarcophagi  we  have  described  were  several  of 
these  entablatures,  most  beautiful  specimens  of  the  kind. 
The  imprint  is  as  perfect  as  at  the  day  it  was  made. 

Several  learned  men,  among  whom  were  Judge  Davis  and 
Dr.  Warren,  gentleman  remarkable  for  their  exactness  and 
scrupulosity,  as  well  as  for  sagacity  and  acquirements,  ex- 
amined this  importation,  for  there  were  with  the  human  bod- 
ies several  embalmed  quadrupeds,  and  unhesitatingly  expres- 
sed their  thorough  conviction  of  the  genuineness  and  remote 
antiquity  of  these  preservations. 

While  we  were  intent  in  spelling  out  these  symbols,  it  was 
announced  that  modern  sagacity  had  given  them  a  tongue 
or  rather  waked  one  to  life  that  had  been  embalmed  in  silence 
for  countless  ages.  One  of  the  literati  of  France,  Champol- 
lion  the  younger,  by  an  enthusiastic  devotion  to  oriental  lit- 
erature, at  length  found  a  clue  to  these  mazes  of  Egyptian 
wisdom.  The  Marquis  ofSpineto,  an  Italian,  is  now  giving 
lectures  in  England  upon  the  same  subject  to  persons  of  all 
ages,  from  tender  years  to  old  age,  and  it  is  said  that  all  ages 
take  a  deep  interest  in  his  researches.  He,  as  well  as  Dr. 
Young,  an  Englishman,  have  made  great  proficiency  in  de- 
ciphering the  inscriptions  on  these  epitaphal  bricks — and 
then-  youthful  pupils  are  following  them  up  with  eagerness  : 
Has  not  the  day  begun  to  dawn  when  the  prophesy  shall  be 
fulfilled,  "  Jlnd  the  child  shall  die  an  hundred  years  old  ?" 

These  distinguished  men  who  have  embarked  with  so  much 
of  that  zeal  which,  is  necessary  for  the  accomplishment  of  any 
great  object,  will,  we  trust,  be  pi  rnrv.tted  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  to  entirely  draw  the  ve.il  of  Isis  which  has  covered  her 
mysteries  so  long  that  the  world  began  to  despair  of  ever  see- 
ing the  glork-s  it  concealed.  Tin  thousand  visions  have 
already  been  unfolded  tii.it  go  to  show  that  man  thought  bet- 
ter and  reasoned  higher  than  we  have  supposed  him  to  have 
done  in  that  early  age  of  tiie  world.  Many  of  those  things 
that  we  had  set  down  as  the  wildest  dreams  of  the  imagina- 
tion of  uneducated  man,  are  in  truth,  when  rightly  under- 


100 

stood,  well  digested  trains  of  thought,  with  regular  connex- 
ions and  dependences,  calculated  to  enlarge  and  ennoble  the 
mind  that  contemplated  them.  Behind  this  veil  of  Isis  I  have 
long  thought  was  concealed  our  masonic  birth.  I  now  fully 
believe  it.  There  was  the  cradle  of  masonry  ;  no  matter  by 
what  name  it  was  called  ;  no  matter  by  whom  it  was  enjoyed. 
There  was  a  compact  to  embody  knowledge,  and  to  make  it 
the  preserver  and  :  ncourager  of  the  moral  virtues,  of  which 
brotherly  love  is  the  chief  corner  stone.  In  addition  to  the 
discoveries  by  the  Vlissionaries  and  travellers  in  the  east,  we 
are  daily  gaining  by  the  researches  of  the  scholars  of  Eu- 
rope— France  contends  with  England  in  this  noble  strife,  to 
outstrip  eaoh  other  in  the  cause  of  letters  and  science  ;  and 
Germany  is  not  behind  either  in  the  race.  The  literati  of 
the  latter  have  and  are  ransacking  the  libraries  of  the  east, 
and  transfusing  into  their  own  and  other  European  languages 
the  treasures  of  the  Arabic,  Chaldaic,  and  the  Hebrew,  and 
other  oriental  tongues.  The  English  history  is  every  hour 
receiving  new  lights  by  the  labors  of  her  profound  professors 
of  learning.  The  deeds  of  the  Alfreds  and  Hardicanutes  are 
becoming  as  familiar  as  those  of  her  Henries  and  Georges  ; 
and  our  own  history,  so  long  neglected,  and  overlooked  in 
the  bustle  of  business  or  the  agitations  of  politics,  is  rising 
slowly,  but  surely,  to  notice  and  admiration,  for  in  it  are  to  be 
found  the  seeds  of  true  national  glory.  Still  it  will  require 
time  to  refine  the  taste  and  give  a  healthy  appetite  to  a  whole 
people  who  have  so  long  fed  on  foreign  confectionary  ;  and 
it  will  be  no  easy  task  to  make  the  patrons  of  the  mounte- 
banks and  raree-show  men  who  swarm  upon  us,  become  the 
patrons  of  letters  and  science. 


NOTE  (3)  page  20. — The  learning  Solomon  had  acquired 
was  not  common  among  the  Jews,  as  will  be  seen  by  his  ad- 
dress to  King  Hiram,  in  which  the  former  says  :  "For  thou 
knowest  thai  there  is  not  among  its  any  that  can  skill  to  hew  tim- 
ber like  unto  the  Sidonians."  This  hewing  of  timber  was  in- 
tended to  embrace  the  whole  principle  of  building  ;  a  part 
was  put  for  the  whole  ;  a  common  figure  of  speech  in  orien- 
tal writings.  Solomon  was  unquestionably  his  own  draftsman 
and  g-ave  the  plan  of  his  house  to  the  servants  of  Hiram  and 


191 

his  own  workmen.  His  knowledge  must  have  been  vast  in 
amount,  extending1  over  every  field  of  learning1  then  known. 
It  is  beautifully  described  by  the  historian  of  the  Kings  : 

"And  Solomon's  wisdom  excelled  the  wisdom  of  all  the 
children  of  the  eastcountrv,  and  all  the  wisdom  of  Egypt. 

For  he  was  wiser  than  all  men  ;  than  Ethan  the  Ezrahite, 
and  Heman,  and  Chalcol,  and  Darda,  the  sons  of  Mahal  ;  and 
his  fame  was  in  all  nations  rouiffl  about. 

And  he  spake  three  thousand  proverbs  :  and  his  songs 
were  a  thousand  and  five. 

And  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the  cedar-tree  that  is  in  Leba- 
non, even  unto  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the  wall  :  he 
spake  also  of  beasts,  and  of  fowl,  and  of  creeping  thing's,  and 
of  fishes.  And  there  came  of  all  people  to  hear  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon,  from  all  kings  of  the  earth,  which  had  heard  of  his 
wisdom." 

These  sons  of  Mahal  were  the  astronomers,  the  poets,  and 
historians  of  his  court,  who  were  learned  in  the  mysteries  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  east  countriei,  and  of  Egypt,  which  was 
not  communicated  to  all,  but  to  a  chosen  few  who  kept  them- 
selves  separated  from  the  mass  of  the  people.  The  science 
of  architecture  was,  unquestionably,  one  of  the  mysteries  of 
that  age  ;  and  in  truth,  it  is  a  mystery  now — I  mean  that  sci- 
ence which  constructed  the  temple  of  God  on  Mount  Mo- 
riah,  which  probably  is  not  to  be  found  among  the  living  ar- 
tists of  the  world.  The  wisdom  of  the  east  country — a  country 
extending  through  all  that  immense  region  east  of  Palestine, 
of  which  we  are  now  beginning  to  know  something  ;  as  well 
as  of  the  urisdom  of  Egypt,  is  always  mentioned  as  a  species  of 
learning  communicated  only  to  a  chosen  few  of  the  first 
grade  ;  no  matter  what  that  learning  was,  there  cannot  be  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  but  that  it  was  communicated  under  the 
sanctions  of  secresy  then,  as  some  portions  of  it  are  at  the 
present  day. 


NOTE  (4)  page  31.— In  tracing  this  portion  of  history  to  il- 
lustrate my  views  and  to  prove  my  assertions,  I  had  the  good 
fortune  of  commanding  the  assistance  of  a  splendid  oriental 
scholar  and  distinguished  traveller,  who  in  traversing  those 
eastern  countries,  had  become  acquainted,  in  a  kgitimale  way, 
12 


102 

with  the  secret  societies  abounding-  there.  He  was  a  master 
of  several  of  their  languages,  and  could  not  be  deceived  ;  and 
from  frequent  communications  with  him  on  this  subject,  I 
cannot  entertain  a  single  doubt,  but  that  masonry,  under  oth- 
er names,  is  now  common  among  tire  learned  of  the  east,  and 
makes  up  a  considerable  portion  of  their  literature  and  sci- 
ence ;  and  is  at  the  same  time  the  bond  of  hospitality  be- 
tween them,  and  individuals  "fef  other  nations ;  and  in  fine, 
furnishes  the  best  medium  of  intercourse,  and  the  surest 
pledge  of  safety  that  is  known  among  these  nations.  I  am 
still  further  confirmed  in  this  belief  from  information  derived 
from  several  of  our  enlightened  Missionaries  who  were  initia- 
ted in  masonry  before  they  left  this  country  for  India.  They 
have  borne  ample  testimony  to  the  favors  they  have  received 
from  the  native  fraternity  in  India,  in  situations  of  a  perilous 
nature,  when  neither  powerful,  but  distant  friends,  nor  their 
own  peaceful  demeanor,  or  holy  errand,  were  sufficient  to 
protect  them  from  multiplied  evils  and  imminent  dangers. 


NOTE  (5)  page  68. — "  The  Trinity  opens  an  immense  field 
for  philosophic  studies,  whether  we  consider  it  in  the  attri- 
butes of  God,  or  collect  the  vestiges  of  this  dogma  diffused 
throughout  the  ancient  east  :  for  so  far  from  being  the  inven- 
tion of  a  modern  age,  it  bears  that  antique  stamp  which  impart* 
exquisite  beauty  to  every  thing  upon  which  it  is  impressed. 
It  is  a  pitiful  mode  of  reasoning  to  reject  whatever  we  cannot 
comprehend.  Were  we  to  begin  with  the  most  simple  things 
in  life,  it  would  be  easy  to  prove  that  we  know  absolutely  no- 
thing; and  shall  we  tlten  pretend  to  penetrate  into  the  depths 
•f  Divine  Wisdom  ? 

The  Trinity  was  known  to  the  Egyptians  :  the  Greek  inscrip- 
tion on  the  great  obelisk  in  the  Circus  Major  at  Rome  was  to 
this  effect  : 

Ttie  Mighty  God ;  Begotten  of  God  ,•  and  the  All-respkndent 
(Apollo,  the  Spirit.) 

Heraclides  of  Pontus  and  Porphyry  record  a  celebrated  ora- 
cle of  Serapis  : 

"  In  ike  beginning  was  God,  then  the  Word  and  the  Spirit  ;  aR 
three  were  produced  together,  and  unite  in  one," 


103 

The  Magi  had  the  Trinity  in  Oromasis,  Metris,  and  Arami- 
nis  or  Oramases,  Mitra,  and  Arimane. 

Plato  seems  to  allude  to  this  incomprehensible  dogma  in  se- 
veral of  his  works. "  Chut,  on  the  Trinity. 

NOTE  (6)  page  83.— "And  by  those  of  the  firmest  and  pure- 
est  natures."  There  was  a  person  once,  who  lias  just  ceased 
to  fill  the  list  of  living1  men,  one  whose  memory  will  ever  be 
dear  to  me,  and  ever  cherished  by  all  who  knew  him  ;  who 
labored  hard  with  many  .arguments  and  kindly  entreaties  to 
induce  me  to  relinquish  my  connexion  with  masonry.  If  any 
man  could  have  prevailed  with  me,  it  would  have' been  this 
friend,  lie  often  asked  what  worldly  advantage  1  had  ever 
received  from  masonry  ? — My  answer  was  none: — If  I  had  not 
spent  much  time  in  the  cause  ? — Yes  ;  if  I  was  a  better  Chris- 
tian, or  a  wiser  man  for  this  devotion  to  the  order  ?  1  was 
silent  as  to  myself;  but  to  all  this  I  replied,  1  believe  the 
world  is  better  for  masonry,  and  that  is  enough  for  me. 

We  mourn  the  loss  of  our  dearest  friends,  whenever  the  re- 
membrance of  them  comes  over  us,  wherever  we  may  be,  and 
we  write  their  epitaphs  on  every  wall  we  lean  against,  and 
carve  their  names  on  every  tree  we  seek  for  shelter,  or  for 
shade.  It  does  not  require  the  solemnities  of  the  church  or 
the  damp,  gloomy  air  of  the  tomb  to  give  us  the  heart-ache  on 
bringing  them  up  to  us  ;  oh  !  no  ;  their  images  are  mingled 
with  our  moments  of  joy  and  sunshine,  and  hover  about  us  in 
our  pathway,  to  prepare  us  also  fora  departure. — Their  whis- 
pers are  as  constant  in  our  ears  as  their  forms  are  in  our  visions. 
There  is  a  mysterious  communion  between  the  living  and 
the  dead. — Let  not  philosophy  attempt  to  explain  it  ;  her  lim- 
ited powers  would  sink  under  it ;  and  let  criticism  forbear  to 
say,  here  or  there  is  the  proper  place  to  mourn  : — every  where  is 
the  proper  place  to  contemplate  the  virtues  of  the  dead,  and 
to  think  upon  \vhat  an  attenuated  thread  hang  the  ties  of  this 
life. 

This  good  man  we  mourn,  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Taylor.  In  his 
death  the  world  has  lost  one  of  its  bright-  st  ornaments,  in  or 
out  of  the  pulpit.  He  was  among  the  most  kerned  of  the  present 
generation  of  distinguished  men.  He  was  a  profound  mathe- 


104 

matician  and  an  admirable  linguist ;  deeply  read  in  his  profes- 
sion, and  master  of  the  accomplishments  of  a  gentleman  and 
gifted  with  the  graces  of  a  Christian.  In  the  odour  of  sanctity 
he  practiced  all  the  courtesies  of  society,  nor  die]  he,  like  some 
narrow-minded  ecclesiastics,  fear  to  bring  the  charmsjof  class'- 
cal  learning  into  the  persuasions  of  the  sanctuary:  He  de- 
fended his  iaith  with  the  wamthof  an  upostle  and  a  martyr,  and 
at  the  same  time  seized  the  dark  and  thick  envelopments  of  big- 
otry with  the  strong  hand  of  a  reformer.  Kis  eloquence,  if 
not  faultless,  was  most  attractive  ;  it  was  rich  with  the  spoils 
of  time,  and  full  of  the  unction  of  truth.  To  make  his  calling 
effectual  to  his  flock,  he  whispered  the  promises  of  hope  to 
the  unhappy,  and  brought  the  consolations  of  the  gospel  to  the 
wounded  in  spirit  ;  he  gave  instruction  with  words  of  comfort, 
and  accompanied  his  reproofs  with  needful  precepts  ;  but 
amiable  as  he  was,  the  denunciations  of  the  Messiah  to  the  op- 
pressor and  the  hypocrite  were  breathed  in  terrors  from  his 
lips.  His  pen  was  as  fluent  as  his  tongue,  and  he  drew  copi- 
ously from  the  sweetest  fountains  of  knowledge — the  master- 
spirits of  the  classic  ages — and  from  the  scriptures,  the  deep 
wells  of  eternal  life.  He  wrote  on  all  subjects  with  the  ease 
of  high  acquirements  and  commanding  talents  ;  he  passed 
from  eloquence  to  poetry,  not  as  a  business,  but  as  an  elegant 
amusement,  which  if  it  does  not  consecrate  an  hour,  throws 
the  perfume  of  taste  and  genius  over  the  moments  of  leisure, 
and  invigorates  the  mind  for  weightier  duties. 

All  his  holy  functions  were  divinely  administered  ;  he  stood 
by  the  bed  where  parting  life  was  laid,  to  charm  away  the  fiend* 
of  conscience  by  the  power  of  that  repentance  which  he 
taught,  and  by  the  gospel  promises  he  had  in  store  ;  and  wait- 
ed in  earnest  prayer,  for  he  believed  this  world  more  intimate- 
ly connected  with  another  than  most  men — to  deliver  over  to 
whispering  angels,  and  sister  spirits,  the  humble,  the  contrite,  tht 
believing,  "trusting  soul.  Like  all  men  of  refined  minds  and 
studious  habits,  he  was  sometimes  overtaken  by  the  clouds  of 
a  gloomy  hour  ;  but  he  brushed  away  the  tear  that  unpleasant 
recollections  or  sad  forebodings  had  wrung  from  his  heart, 
and  he  came  out,  and  joined  the  social  circle,  when  his  duties 
would  permit,  with  alacrity  and  interest  ;  and  by  his  presence 
impressed  upon  the  votaries  of  fashion,  this  great  truth;  that 
elegance,  refinement  and  intelligence,  require  the  purity  of 


105 

devotion,  and  the  gentleness  of  sanctity  to  give  a  perfect  and 
an  exquisite  finish  to  the  manners  of  a  gentleman.  He  was 
held  in  reverence  by  his  countrymen — the  warm-hearted  Irish 
— and  beloved  by  the  people  whose  country  he  had  for  a  while 
adopted,  and  at  one  time  expected  to  make  his  own  for  life  ; 
but  divine  wisdom  had  otherwise  decreed,  for  while  his  nu- 
merous friends  were  indulging  tiie  fond  hope  of  his  speedy 
return  to  this  country  with  fiesh  honors,  and  enlarged  pavers 
of  usefulness,  the  waves  of  the  atlantic  were  bearing  to  our 
shores  the  melancholly  tidings  of  his  premature  am' 
death  ;  but  in  their  deep  grief  at  his  loss,  his  friends  haw  this 
consolation  left — that  he  died  in  the  midst  of  his  religious  du- 
ties. He  burst  a  blood-vessel  in  the  pulpit.  If  to  pour  out 
one's  blood  in  the  cause  of  our  country  be  an  imperishable 
honor,  what  measure  of  praise  is  his  who  exhausts  the  foun- 
tains of  life  in  tiie  cause  of  his  God  ?  Farexve!,  sainted  shade  ; 
the  sufferings  of  thy  dtl.cate  spirit,  which  was  "  itiucfi'dbut 
to  fine,  issue*,"  are  over  ;  the  veil  of  futurity  is  lifted  up  for 
thee  ;  and  the  visions  of  beatitude  are  thine. 

NOTE  (7)  page  88. — The  author  of  these  Lectures  was  for 
more  than  fifteen  years  a  counsellor  at  law  in  Massachusetts, 
and  was  constantly,  during  that  period,  at  the  bar  of  her 
Courts,  and  for  ten  years  of  the  time  he  practiced  in  the  Mu- 
nicipal Court  of  Boston,  a  Court  of  criminal  jurisdiction  ;  and 
he  affirms,  that  among  the  very  considerable  number  of  per- 
sons he  was  employed  to  defend,  that  he  never  was  mortified 
but  once  in  the  whole  course  of  his  practice  by  a  masonic 
claim  for  professional  assistance,  from  a  culprit,  and  that  once 
was  from  a  foreigner  who  had  escaped  a  deserved  punishment 
for  crime  in  his  own  land.  If  any  of  these  culprits  were  ma- 
sons, they  did  not  dare  avow  themselves  as  such,  or  hope  for 
assistance,  from  the  fraternity,  while  the  charge  of  crime  was 
upon  them.  But  if  a  few  could  be  pointed  out  who  had 
been  on  the  criminal  calendar,  we  might  say,  that  every  pro- 
fession have  their  "  damned  spots"  also.  The  counting-house, 
the  healing  art,  tiie  bar,  the  pulpit,  and  the  bench,  have  h:id 
cause  in  their  several  orders,  to  in;>urn  the  weakness  of  hu- 
man resolutions  and  the  corruptibility  of  human  virtues. 


106 

NOTE  (8)  page  96.— Although  no  one  has  ventured  to  ar- 
raign my  motives  in  coming  forward  at  this  moment,  in  favor 
of  our  order,  yet  it  has  not  escaped  me  that  some  of  our 
brethren  question  the  policy  of  touching  the  subject  of  ma- 
sonry on  any  consideration  whatever.  For  myself,  I  can  only 
say,  that  in  my  opinion,  it  is  folly  to  pursue  that  which  can- 
not be  justified,  and  infamous  to  espouse  that  which  we  have 
not  courage  to  defend.  I  have  taken  my  course  and  shall 
throw  the  responsibility  of  it  on  no  one  :  I  alone  am  amena- 
ble to  the  public.  If  the  fraternity  approve  of  my  course,  I 
shall  be  happy  ;  if  they  do  not,  but  censure  and  condemn  it ; 
pardon  the  vanity  of  the  allusion — they  shall  never  find  the 
defender  of  Rome  among  the  Volciaiis.  It  may  be,  that  the 
fraternity  may  show  me  that  I  have  been  wrong,  and  misled 
by  the  false  lights  of  history  and  learning,  and  when  I  come 
to  my  senses,  that  I  shall  find  that  1  have  been  like  the  anti- 
quarian, who  in'contemplating  a  mummy  fell  into  a  fit  of  en- 
thusiasm, and  running  back  to  the  days  of  old,  saw  Egypt's 
Queen,  in  all  her  loveliness,  dissolve  the  pearl  to  drink  ; 
heard  her  enchanting  voice,  "  gan  murmur  love,  "and  like 
her  mighty  lords — the  masters  of  the  world — he  was  at  once 
enslaved  by  her  charms  ;  and  following  on  in  her  destinies, 
saw  her  also  when  she  took  the  asps  to  her  bosom  and  court- 
ted  death  through  the  gates  of  painless  slumber  ;  then,  the 
spirit  of  gallantry  moved  within  him,  and  he  started  to  dash 
the  poisonous  "  worms  of  the  Nile"  away  ;  but  waking  from 
the  trance,  found  that  he  was  embracing  amarrowless,  blood- 
less, brainless  mass  of  deformity  that  had  been  grinning  defi- 
ance to  decay  and  dissolution  for  thirty  centuries.  But  as 
yet,  I  believe  that  I  have  not  been  in  a  reverie  ;  but  have 
judged  the  matter  of  masonry  with  the  sana  ntensin  sano  car- 
pore.  Tlie  same  decree  that  decides  that  I  am  wrong,  will 
contain  a  negative  pregnant  that  our  enemies  are  right — and  if 
they  be  right,  then  stratagem,  villuny,  murder  and  treason 
never  had  a  holiday  until  now.  If  he  who  speaks  in  favor  of 
masonry  is  to  be  proscribed  with  those  who  speak  against  it, 
the  sooner  we  make  a  funeral  pyre  of  our  charters  the  better. 
Neither  the  cutting  taunts  of  friends — "  that  one  book  against 
masonry  would  sell  better  than  twenty  in  favor  of  it ,-"  nor  the 
fears  of  a  few,  or  the  apathy  of  the  many,  will  satisfy  me  that 
1  have  done  wrong  in  making1  this  little  book  j  the  verdict 


107 

against  it  must  be  full,  and  clear,  and  pronounced  most  audi- 
bly, before  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  the  trial — not  upon  the 
merits  of  what  I  have  said  ;  but  of  the  crime  of  saying  any 
thing-. 


I. 


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